Shades of Heroes
by RedAlaina
Summary: Many decades have passed, and the legend of the Hero of Time has begun to fade. Hyrule is little more than a field of dust, can the new hero save it? Possible romance later, if so, DarkLinkxLink. OoT adult link timeline. R&R please
1. 1: Welcome, Link

_**Hello all, I, the author, just wanted to give you a little heads up on why I wrote this...kinda.**_

_**I started playing Skyward Sword, the only Zelda game I've fallen in love with since OoT, and it got me curious to find some Zelda fanfiction on this website which got me to reading some and before I knew it, I decided I wanted to write my own. OoT has been done to death, I know, so I hope this very strange, post-apocolyptic Hyrule isn't too off-color for you fellow readers. The problem is is that it's really the only Zelda game I really, REALLY know, so it was kinda hard to stray from it at all. And these kinds of stories just pop into my head and what else to do but write them down, right? Hope you enjoy. :)**_

Hyrule.

A land of legend. Many generations of heroes have had a close connection to the ancient world, infusing it with myths and stories almost too unbelievable to even tell. But some people still believed...

A pointy-eared male, nearly seventeen, walked outside a lonely but well-built shack in the center of a large, empty field. His crystal blue eyes shimmered with the morning song, and his soft blonde hair floated in the gentle breeze. It had been many, many years since this land had been inhabited, a magical aura now surrounded the land and people feared returning to it. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he directed his attention northwest, spying a run-down structure near the center of the field.

He sighed, ducking back into his small living structure to grab a very loaded backpack filled with supplies. He wore little else than a green stitched shirt, brown pants and leather boots. It was his duty to research this entire area, even if it meant being alone for awhile.

Hiking across the terrain was dull and difficult since the grassy fields had dried into a withering dust bowl over the years. Few patches of green remained, and little of the once great Hyrule was still intact. The young man could hear his father's voice in his ears...

_"That place is dangerous as well as useless. No one has yet to find out what cataclysmic event happened to destroy that place..."_

This place used to thrive, be a home to many races and people. It saddened him to think human lives once depended on this land, and now dust storms ravaged the wasteland. He tilted his head up, reaching his destination. It took him the better half of the day, but he was able to get a good look at the crumbling structure in front of him. A worn down sign, actually half-rotted, still attempted to stay it's ground at the entrance of the place. The young man leaned forward to try to make out the worn words.

'Lon Ra' was all he could make out. He shrugged his shoulders, and strolled through the entrance, noticing the blown out doors that used to keep intruders from invading. It was kind of pathetic, the man decided. What he could safely assume were a living quarters and barn was nothing but the base of a building now, rooms exposed and whatever wood was left was nearly rotted or bug-eaten. He continued to walk forward to notice the remnants of a large circular fence in a big open field...now barren. The man scowled, not finding much of interest to pick up here. No clues or artifacts...anything. He looked up. The only think that truly remained were the stone walls, topped with vicious looking spikes. They seemed to be made to last, so the youth decided here would be a good place to rest before setting out in the morning. He dedicated the rest of the daylight hours to exploring the ruins well, just in case, but by the time he had to start a fire before complete darkness overtook him, he was very much dissapointed.

The next day, and the first day in his third month of this journey, he had managed to make it completely across the rest of the field and investigate whatever he could. A dried up stream left a trench filled with dust and sand, and he was able to walk across it to find something rather surprising. Stone flooring across the river on the farthest side of the field. He looked up, searching for stone walls or structues that would usually be found with this kind of concrete flooring...but he saw nothing. Yet it was plain to see that in the ground was a solid stone foundation. Scratching his head, he continued to follow the stone to see just how much was laid down. To his great surprise, it was laid in such a way that would intend to hold an entire town, and at the far edge, he saw a beat stone pathway leading even further into the desert. The man stared down the path, he was already having trouble breathing as the wind grew harsher and the sun blew in every direction. Heaving his luggage, he turned and left to investigate the strange path another time.

Making his way back across the stone grounds, the young man was startled to see a shimmering white in the ever-growing sand. He made his way towards it, moving more and more east with every step. Goddess it was getting hard to see... he tried his best to breathe properly, but with each passing second the storm grew stronger. Finally, the shimmering white was visible, even through the storm, and he was shocked to that it was a pure white stone path. Now how could he have missed that? His insticts were screaming for him to find shelter soon, as the air would become unbreathable. Running as fast as he could against the wind, he followed the pristine steps that seemed to appear as he advanced. He guessed it was due to the visibilty rate of the sand, but something in the back of his mind tugged at his conciousness...

He was so focused on the steps that he was unprepared to ram straight into a wall, knocking himself flat on his back as the impact jarred his whole body. Squinting, and attempting to shake the fuzziness from himself, he was shocked to see a pure white building standing tall in front of him. It was so white that it seemed to take on a bluish glow, like a beacon in this Goddess-forsaken desert. Feeling the wind pick up once more, the young male grasped the door handle and muscled his way inside the creaking door.

Once inside, an odd thrumming seemed to vibrate throughout the building. The clack of his boots against the floor rang like a chorus. Several steps in front of him was a raised platform was a symbol on it that he was quite familiar with, the symbol of the Triforce, a power that was used many times over in history to save the people of the world. A bit farther ahead stood a pedastal with an inscription. Curious, and with nothing better to do at the moment, he stepped forward to examine the pedastal. The inscription had long since worn off, leaving only a few unreadable marks here and there. What interested him were the three gold-encrusted stones the lay about, each in different design and mostly grey with different colored tints. One lay in the ground, cracked and fragile-looking. He gingerly picked up the piece, eyeing it with interest.

"Who dare enter..." A light breeze swept behind him, picking up his soft hair and brushing it against the back of his neck, making him freeze.

"Who dare enter..." It whispered again, this time stronger, more forceful. Fearfully, the man slowly turned, a nearly dropped the artifact from his hand at the sight before him.

A crystalized woman hovered inches above the ground, her entire body glowed blue. She didn't seem to be wearing clothes, but no details of her body were discernable. Her eyes were nothing but pure white lights. "Who dare enter this temple?" She demanded forcefully.

The man took a step back, frightened and surprised. What in all of the lands was THAT?

"No man but he may enter here. Proof of finding this place is not enough. I will ask only once more." The figure floated closer, leaning towards the frightened male as he fell backwards from the sheer force of will the crystalized woman seemed to release. "WHO ARE YOU?" She demanded in a frightening tone.

Sweat seemed to cloud the man's vision as he had to take a moment to process the question. "L-Link..." He finally stammered out. "I hail from the land of Laiden...an explorer's son." Was that too much information?

The other tilted her head slightly, as if to ponder the information. "You are welcome here." She stated simply, her tone suddenly turned from hostile to almost friendly. "You have come to explore the ruins of this land."

"Yes." Link answered, although it wasn't a question.

"The time has come to revive this land. Your arrival is proof of such..."

The blonde man blinked, confused. "I'm...sorry? Revive?"

"Tell me. What do the races remember of the Hero of Time?"

That was an old, OLD story, as Link recalled. He knew it was actually a childrends book, and one that was waning in popularity. His grandfather had sworn by it though...and it was a favorite of his...

"Well...I know that a fairy-accompanied boy defeated a King of Evil...he faced many trials and overcame them."

"Is that all?"

There was very little detail to the old folk legend, but Link felt somewhat solemn as he nodded his head slightly.

The creature seemed to growl in anger. "And what of the Princess? The prophecy? Is any of this part of the story you know?"

"The details...have been lost." Was all Link could manage to say. He wondered how expansive the story actually was.

"The time has come then. If balance is to be kept in the world, the legend must be revived and relived. Without the dedication to the legends, future generations will not survive."

"You...talk about it as if it really happened..." Link stated slowly. His words seem to anger the other.

"Of course it happened! You have a rare opportunity archeologist." The female said soothingly. " I have the power to revive this land. To do something wonderous and amazing. Without the favor of the Goddess's, a deep and dark shadow has overtaken this land of Hyrule. Crippling, choking, and draining the life energy out of every area of that used to thrive with activity. I ask you this...if you could save generations of people, would you be up to the task?"

Generations? Revive an entire land? Link sat blankly on the cold stone floor, gazing upwards at the glowing white eyes that seemed to be staring at his very sould. This was entirely sudden and

odd. Why him? Why now, of all times? "I...I honestly don't think I understand."

The bluish figure sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly. "The choice is entirely up to you. You may choose to return life to the wasteland outside...or leave it as it is. But remember, in doing so, you ensure the safety of millions of people not yet of this world."

How could she be so serious? The entire scenario just didn't even seem real to him...but something in his heart was tugging at him, and he felt his chest tighten. A chance to let this land live again...he had spent much time scrounging this dead place of the world, and was saddened when every overturned rock or broken down door revealed a piece of a past someone's life. Forgotten and abandoned.

He sighed heavily. This wasn't a choice. In his mind, everything deserved a chance at the very least. He wasn't sure what the female figure in front of him meant by a 'shadow crippling the land', but whatever job he had to do couldn't be more tedious than scrounging the desert for ancient artifacts. And accomplishing a monumental task such as this would probably be just the push he was looking for...

His blue eyes shimmering with a growing excitement, the blonde boy stood up and nodded at the bluish figure. "I'll do it..." He said, suddenly feeling as if he had most definitely made the right decision. Yes, this was going to be the right thing to do!

"I am glad you have come to a quick decision."

"What must I do?" The blonde asked curiously. Suddenly, he felt the tiniest twinge of regret of not asking first, but he shooed the feeling away with the reminder of life in this place once again.

"There are several places you must go. I will discuss each with you. There are temples throughout this land, sacred places that were once used to house great power and guarded by powerful sages...they are gone now, however, and the temples have been overrun by creatures that thrive on darkness and shadows. Time has altered or destroyed some of them. But removing the creatures of darkness may help restore some of their power, and can aid you in the revival of the land."

"O-Okay..." Link nodded, suddenly nervous. The most battle experience he had was just the way over. Monsters didn't overrun the land, but you still had to be careful.

"Do not fret. You're instincts will begin to takeover, and I shall provide with this enchanted steel sword and shield..."

Link stared as she held out her hands and magically produced a full length sword in a fancy scabbard and a worn shield that had some strange markings on it. "This shield..."

"It's an old Hylian shield, perserved by this temple. It will work well for you, as it worked well for it's previous master."

As Link touched the sword and shield, he felt an odd familiarence with the armory. Setting down his heavy pack, he strapped the sword across his chest and set the shield on his back. He felt strangely comfortable weilding them.

"Do you have an instrument?"

Link frowned, confused. "No...I can sing, though." He smiled at himself a bit. He was actually quite good.

"That will do. Before you can even attempt any of the sacred temples that are strewn throughout the land, you must open that door." The blue girl said, indicating a giant stone slab behing the pedastal.

"THAT is a door?"

"Yes. And to open it, you must revive the three sacred jewels, one of which you hold in your hand."

The blonde male looked at the cracked and dead-looking stone. The female continued. "Their power can be revived by visiting their places of origin...the Zora Domain, Death Mountain, and the Kokiri Forest."

All three of those places sounded strange and exotic to Link, but he gave a stout nod, confirming that he was listening in close intent.

"The forest is next to impossible to enter. You should save attempting going in there last. In the Zora Domain there used to be a great fish by the name of Lord Jabu Jabu. He no longer exists, but his reincarnation might. Search for him. He can revive the Sapphire. As for the Ruby, the Gorons used to value it as their greatest treasure. If you search their ruined city, you may discover a power enough to revive the Ruby."

Link took in all the information with a serious expression, contemplating everything that was transpiring. It seemed nearly impossible. but here was this magical creature, talking to him and giving him enchanted items. He stretched his arms high above his head, and tapped his boots on the ground.

"You...have been chosen. Please...do well." And with that, the figure vanished in a glow of blue light.

Chosen? How was he chosen? Deciding that it wouldn't do him any good to worry about it, Link watched for the desert storm to subside before venturing back out into the wild barren wasteland.

_**Hope that wasn't too strange... Dx**_


	2. 2: First Entry

_**When you can't sleep, you write. More chapters to be done soon. Please enjoy and review.**_

Chapter 2

Link swat his sword in the air, getting more used to the feel of the weight with every swing. He opened the map that had mysteriously found it's way into his tunic shirt, and peered over it. Zora Domain was just a pathway south of his general area, which was marked as castle town on he weathered map. It made sense, the stone floors were indication enough of the presence of a castle. He walked along the dried-up stream, irritated by the blowing sand.

The path was littered with dried grass plants and bushes, twigs and sticks were strewn about from the dead trees. The blonde gulped hard, suddenly feeling a nervousness clench his through and the grip on his sword turned into a vice. _This is crazy..._ he began to tell himself. But he continued to look at the withered ground and deadness of the land and his heart sank. Everything deserves a chance to live...

_Another small boy held the butterfly by it's wings. "Hey Link! Check out what I caught!" _

_The little blonde boy gasped in horror. "Let it go! You'll hurt it!" _

_The other boy looked up in surprise. "I'll let it go...I just wanted to show you I could catch it, see?" He grinned proudly._

_The other boy was in near tears. _

_"Geez Link. You may be tough in a fight, but you've got no guts when it comes to stuff like this, huh?"_

Link shook the tiny memory from his head. Even his father had told him he goes too far out of his way for other people...

He ran up a slope of dirt, making his way further into the deep alcove. He was surprised when a large spider-like creature blocked his path, a hard shell on it's back like a turtle. Link gripped his sword tightly. The spider was dark and seemed to exume a shadowy aura. It gave a high-pitched screech and darted towards him. Startled, Link missed the timing of his upswing by a second too early, and the dark spider rammed into him, knocking him back into a wall. Stunned, Link steadied himself against the wall, and barely registered the creature barreling towards him again before he jumped to the side, swinging his sword in an upwards motion and flipping the arachnid creature. Once it was flipped on it's back, Link found the strength to push himself up hard with a powerful jump and lunge a downward thurst in the beast midsection. The creature screeched again, and it eight fuzzy legs curled in pain, brushing against Link and making him shudder. Finally it stilled, clearly dead as a thick purple liquid oozed from the sword stab. Disgusted, the swordsman withdrew his sword and continued down the path.

He ran into several similar spider-like creatures, some smaller than the rest, and some wicked-looking batlike creatures that had spindly claws and blood red eyes. They were swatted away easily enough by his blade, but they looked freakishly evil for wild animals. Finally, he came across what seemed like a dead-end at first, but then he realized that thin strips of earth zig-zagged their way into an opening at the top of what used to be a waterfall. The earth look dry a frail, though, like it could give way at any moment. Link started up the path to the entrance, taking very cautious steps. The pressure of his foot made cracks and dirt fall to the ground below, but it held firm, for now anyway. He was nearly to the top when a sickening cracking sound filled his ears, and his instincts took over as he sprinted the rest of the way, leaping into the hole at the top just as the earth underneath him gave way. He spun and watched from a safe distance as the dried piece of earth plummeted to the ground and shattered into several pieces. Breathing evenly to calm himself down, he continued forward.

Inside the Domain was a huge, almost-empty lake. A tiny amount of water trickled down from a high waterfall and emptied into the very pathetic lake. Creatures were crawling everywhere. Looking around, he noticed that there was also a large gateway that was having quite a bit of water flow through it. He ran down the path in front of him, pausing to slay a spider and the nest it had built, and looked around. An old shop, long abandoned and covered in cobwebs, stole his interest. Judging by the number of webs around it, he was certain some creatures had made their home in the cozy little square. To have earned such a good home it also must be a creature of great strength, so he advanced towards what seemed to be a throne room. A gate in the back, and a hallway leading to the waterfall opening on his left. Link walked up the path and past the gate, entering yet another dried up lake. Boulders and pieces of earth now filled the hole, and he was able to find a path to an interesting cave on the far side of the lake. Making his way towards it, he notices a small spring of water emitting from the hole in the wall, and felt a chill go down his spine from a cool breeze that came from the cave. Cautiously, he proceeded forward...

It was freezing in here. Somehow, while it was blistering hot outside, this cave managed to be completely covered in ice. He shivered and watched his breath in front of him as his arm seemed to be frozen to his sides, trying to keep warm. He swatted at a few of the bat creatures , knocking them into walls and slicing off their wings. To his dismay, one of them had breathed a stream of frigid air at him, freezing his leg to the ground. It failed to dodge his sword swing however, and seemingly died with a puff of smoke. Creatures from the shadows...they must return to where they came from, he surmised, recalling how everything just seemed to puff around him. He shivered suddenly, dragging his frozen foot along with him. This was harder than he thought it would be, but with the prospect of seeing the fields green he hardened his resolve. Luckily, there seemed to be a lit torch next to a doorway of some kind. Having the foresight to stuff a few dried stickes into his supplies was about to seriously pay off. He found a few good steady stones, littered the inside of the circle with the twigs, then used one small twig to transfer a small flame from the torch to his fire. The ice melted slowly, but soon he could feel the pins and needles digging into his foot. Wincing at the pain he massaged his foot thoroughly as soon as he was able to yank the boot off, now soaked with melted ice. As soon as he was sure his foot wasn't in danger of frostbite, he put his boot back on and continued through the cold cavern.

This place was not only cold and full of monsters and ice, but it had puzzles as well. Link was more than discouraged when he realized that he had to take the time to think out the rooms and figure out how to advance. And how was he supposed to find this power to revive the Sapphire? Starting to feel like he was fumbling in the dark, he entered a wide dome-like room that seemed very empty. He noticed, frozen in ice, was an open chest, from who knows how old. Curious, he walked over to investigate, but was swiftly spun around by a sharp object digging into his shoulder and ripping it wide open. Blood dripped down the torn tunic and his arm, and even though the wound stung something fierce, Link was almost grateful for the warmth it covered him in. He spun to see a humanoid with wolf-like features prancing on his legs, back and forth, back and forth. He lunged for another attack with an inhuman growl, swiping at the blonde-haired male with his claws. Link jumped backwards, then used the burst forward with a stroke of his sword and slashed at the creature, successfully landing a deep gash into the things arm. Infuriated, it attacked wildly with low growls and barks. Link parried and jabbed, whittling down the creature until finally he struck a fatal blow, and the creature collapsed on the floor, eyes rolled back and a distgusting thick blue blood flowing from it's wounds. Panting, and injured, Link sat down on the floor, and noticed something behind the creature...

It had dropped a large, ornate shovel, encrusted with gems and made out of a very sturdy yet light material. Link looked closely, and saw that the creature he just killed wore a holster for the shovel on its back. Pleasently surprised, Link removed the holster from the slain beast and attached it to himself. It would need to be washed of the thick blood sometime, but for now he just wanted to find this great power. The added weight to his back was barely noticeable, as the shovel was so light he wondered if it was really a shovel. Investigating the room more, he found a hole behind the old treasure chest. Sighing, and seeing no other way out, he dropped down.

Down the hold was a door, and a large on at that. Oddly enough, it seemed fairly new compared to the rest of the place. Gritting his teeth, he pushed the door open.


	3. 3: First Stone

_**I have forgotten the disclaimer in both chapters 1 & 2...**_

_**I do not own the Legend of Zelda or any of it's characters.**_

Chapter 3

As it turned out, he was only halfway through this cavern. With more enemies and less puzzled to solve, Link found himself worrying about what kind of creature was really down here. He quickly realized there had to be some kind of boss to these randomized creatures that were down here, and the pit in his stomach told him that whatever it was, it would be tough. Excercising his sore shoulder was quickly a must almost every few minutes. He had managed to wrap it well with strips of a spare undershirt he kept, but the blood leaked through every once in awhile. Wincing as he brought his sword down in swift stroke. With the enemy defeated, the barred door opened, revealing an oddly ornated chest inside. Raising a brow, he opened the chest to discover a massive golden key. Grasping it dumbly, he realized it must go to the thick golden lock he saw on another door earlier. "Is this some kind of joke?" He wondered out loud. It he could put two and two together, then the guy behind this monster infestation was behind that golden locked door. Shaking his head, he retreated to the room, and sat outside the door, resting before barging in. He was sure that more than half a day had past, and he felt exhausted. He spotted a few clay pots next to the door, and out of mere curiousity, broke one open. Surprise lit up his eyes as a red shiny gem clattered to the floor. "Rupees? In here?" He wandered aloud. A nice little find, but it didn't help his exhaustion any. He was dying for medicine or something to dull the fire in his shoulder, although he had little hope anything like that would be down here...

And to his even bigger surprise when he knocked over the second clay pot a pink ball of light appeared. "What the-?" The little glowing ball of pink giggled. "You look wary. Allow me to heal your worn body." And the little pink ball circled him, casting it's dust-like glow over him. Startled, Link could only stare at the curious little sprite until he felt the pain in his shoulder receding and the wearniess in his muscles dissapated. Feeling like he had just woken up from the best nights sleep, he stretched his newly healed arm and smiled in delight. "Thank you!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Not a problem. If you ever have a bottle, you may take one of us fairy sprites along with you. Please consider it." And the little sprite flew off. How it even got down there, Link was more than curious to know. Why it helped him was even more curious. And what did she call herself? A fairy? Scratching his head, and newly refreshed, Link turned to the door and focused on facing whatever in the worl was in there. Fumbling with the large, golden key some, the lock finally came loose and fell to the floor with a loud CLANG. Taking a deep breath, Link stepped through the open door.

The icy wind that hit his face froze him almost instantly. It was so cold in here. He noticed large boulders in the room and glanced back at the shovel. Earlier he had learned that the item had some kind of magical enchantment on it, it could pick of boulders three times his own size and fling it across the room. It still took some of his strength, but the lifting enchantment in the item did most of the work. He looked up and noticed that the top of the room probably eventually led to the outside, although they were so far down that it was still all ice in this room...

Suddenly, the icy wind seemed to actually slash at him, cutting into his body in tiny, razor-sharp stroked. Instinctively he covered his face with his arms and hands, and peered through squinted eyes to see a giant, furry head with one eye descend down the tall room. It was massive. At least twenty times his size. His eye took up most of the being, and a large, toothy mouth roared so loudly in his ears that he went deaf for a bit. Quickly realizing he wouldn't be able to get too close to the monster, Link immediately ran over to one of the boulders strewn about the room and kicked his magical shovel underneath it, flinging it in the direction of the monster. The giant white furball had been rushing him, and the boulder hit it straight in the eye. The ey flashed red and yellow as the monster roared in pain, falling on it's side, stunned. Wasting as little time as possible, Link rushed to it, and sliced into the beasts eyeball and it screamed in pain.

Link got about three hits in before it set itself upright, summoning a powerful icy wind to unleash its razor-sharp slices on Link again. Trying to keep his own eyes intact while still watching the monster, Link ran around the room for another boulder with squinted sight. The best rushed him again, this time ramming into the wall and knocking his head hard. Now fuzzy, Link stumbled over the boulder he was aiming for, barely able to register what he needed to do. The boulder flew across the room, again hitting its mark, and Link ran to the eyeball to rip into with his sword once again.

The creatures eye now bled profusely and it panted in pain. Desperate, the wind grew colder and harsher and Link was surprised to feel himsel be moved by the wind, and being picked up fast. Suddenly he was flown into the air and came down with a loud crash, again knocking him senseless. Gasping, Link could only think of ending the beasts life to rid himself of this torture. With some doing, and quite a but of dodging, he made it to one last boulder and flung it at his opponent, and slashed the single eye to shreds. The beast reeled back, it's eye starting to bubble from being cut too many times, veins popping grotesquely and the screams of the monter ringing in Link's sensitive ears. It finally shuddered it's last breath, dark blue blood gushing from it as it began to dissapate into a dark, shadowy essence.

Link panted heavily, his head was throbbing in pain and he stabbed his sword into ground and leanded against it. His mind was a jumbled mess when he looked foward, where the creature had dissapated, and spotted a bright right container. Careful to avoid the dark blue liquid that stained the floor, Link picked up the oddly-shaped container and noticed a thick red liquid inside of it. What was this stuff? It smelled sweet, and a little nudge in the back of his mind was telling him to drink it. That was nuts though, right? You don't just eat or drink things that have been lying around...still. It smelled so good...

He brought the container to his lips and sipped the sweet red nectar that was inside. Instantly he felt the pain in his head begin to fade and the sore joints from being thrashed around felt better. Before he new it he had drained the container, and curiously enough, broke off a piece of the actual container and nibbled on it. It was sweet as well. He sat down in delight as he finished the sweet snack, and suddenly realized that he _felt_ a bit stronger. Deciding to ask his blue friend about it later, he was about to advance to the door on the other side of the room when a strange white essence spurred itself from the spot the heart container had landed. Instantly drawing his blade at the sudden commotion, he was startled to see a baby fish pop out of the ground. The white energy that surrounded it streamed towards Link's bags, and he ripped out the dulled Sapphire gemstone. The white essence infused the stone, returning to brilliant blue color. Link smiled. His first step towards restoring the land...

His attention then turned to the tiny red fish that had popped itself out of the ground. It was cute, with a big yellow latern-type appendage on the top of it's head. It's big round eyes shone with a certain level of happiness. Suddenly, the temperature in the cavern seemed to warm up. The ice began to melt, and quickly. So quickly, in fact, that a small stream of water already had itself rushing through the dungeon-esque cavern. The little fish happily flopped itself into a stream of moving water, and Link swore that the little thing raised a flipper and waved it to him. Shaking his head, Link returned to rush towards the unopened door. Inside was a huge chest, beautifully decorated and lavish. Nearly giddy with excitement, he ran over to the chest and thrust it open.

Inside was a brightly glowing pendant, it seemed to have no definite shape or figure, just an ice blue ball of light somehow attached to a long, thin chain. He noticed an inscription on the chest...

_He who slain the abomination that kept us in severe cold,_

_Let us give the gift of cold that can be used for good._

_A powerful wind of ice will do as it's told, _

_For the Pendant if Icy Wind is worth more than gold._

Link grasped the pendant for a second, feeling an odd magical power within the little accessory. He placed the delicate chain around his neck, and felt himself able to _call_ upon the bits of magic now at around his neck. He tested it out, and to his own surprise, started whistling. The strange little tune that moved from his lips on its own accord summoned a great gust of ice-cold wind that seemed to now bother him. Beaming over the curious little trinket, he turned around to start to make his way through exiting the cavern when he noticed the entire place was already flooded with melted ice. Panicking, he desperately looked for a way out. Seeing none, he was about to give in when a the flooring he was standing on began to shake violently. A powerful burst of water shot up from the rapidly flooding cavern, sending the piece of land and the newly found hero straight into the air and through the open top of the odd room.

Link held on for dear life, screaming as he found himself high above Zora Domain, ready to fall and crash into the dry, boulder filled lake below him. He watched from way up high as some an explosive force of water pushed all of the boulders and loose earth out of the lake from underneath, and the lake quickly filled with chilly ice water. Gritting his teeth, Link attempted to make a diving position, praying the lake was deep enough to help him escape death.

The water crashed in his face, stinging his cheeks and head his arms had gone numb from the impact and it took him a minute to realize that his head was indeed still intact. The lake was actually quite deep, and he had dove about three-quarters down. Now ready for a breath of fresh air, he swam fiercly to the water's surface and gasped in a deep breath, swimming to the nearest stable ground. He looked at the now filled lake, and was surprised to see many little red fish swimming cheerfully in it. Bewildered, but happy to see the once barren lake filled with life, he pulled himself up and began to walk back into the domain. He stopped, however, when he spied an odd patch of land on the opposite side of the lake. He looked down at his already drenched clothes and jumped back in the cool water, now evening out with the warm temperature outside, and swam to the patch of land. A lone boulder stood on it, and a few patches of dried grass. Shrugging, and telling himself he would check it out, when and if he could do something about this boulder, he headed back towards the domain.

Water flooded the place, but in a good way. The waterfall thundered in the main room, and the sudden flow of the river and already started the job of clearing out the cobwebs and some of the my dry-based creatures. Link smiled as already walking through the Domain was easier with the lack of monsters and it was cheerier with moving water in it. He actually had the hope enough to run over to the waters edge and lookin for fish like in the other lake, but his face fell when he saw nothing but clear water. He decided to come back and check for some later. He passed the still spider-owned shop without going into it, that was another thing he would have to come back and take care of...but for now, he was weary of the battles.


	4. 4: Part Two

_**I do not own Legend of Zelda or any of the characters. **_

He had his doubts at first, of course. Could he really do this? Why even agree to something so outlandish? But it did seem right, and after seeing the effects of restoration on the single Zora Domain, he was excited to revive the Ruby and witness the live-giving effects it would have on the world. The river that flowed out of the Domain was now full to the brim, sweeping away the excess sand and dirt. It was a rather dirt-filled river right now, but the blonde was confident that it would be clear and cool soon enough. Already the grass around it looked a little livelier and not so...dead.

It wouldn't take him very long to return to the temple and meet his blue friend, which he was now determined to remember to ask her name this time, as well as a few important questions. He walked along the river, a perfect hero-like smile on his face, very proud of himself and his first accomplishment. But then he felt his foot hook on something, and he fell flat on his face, literally eating dirt. Spitting out dust, he stood and turned to see what had tripped him, only to get a glimpse of a darkness slithering up a set of broken-down stairs. He paused, feeling some of the color drain from his face. The hell was that? Another question to ask his friend, he surmised, now a little more serious about getting to the pristine white temple.

He had missed it the first time, again, and when he went back over the concrete a second time the white blocks made themselves apparent. He followed the path that seemed to appear in front of him on step at a time, even though the sand and wind were down quite a bit today. He cocked an eyebrow, but didn't question it much...until the temple seemed to appear from thin air as well. Only slightly startled this time, he opened the door and stepped inside, liking the sound his boots made echoing off the walls.

"You've returned." Said a voice that rang like a tiny bell.

"Oh. Yes." He realized he hadn't spoken hardly at all since he left, and the conversation part felt odd to him.

"I see you were successful. Yet, you hold a question in your eyes."

"Several, actually." He walked towards her, she hovered in the center of the room and he simply stood at the entrance. "First, I'd like to know your name."

The blue figure seemed somewhat startled. "I have not been called anything specific in over three hundred years." She explained. "In my former state, I was chosen to be a guide for the Hero of Time."

Link looked at her, surprised.

"My name then was Navi the fairy. We had a bond...a bond that was broken once he left. You see...fairies were only given to Kokiri, children of the forest. They do not age, they do not grow. But Link...although he had been raised with the Kokiri, was Hylian. He grew, and had to leave. He left for greater adventures. But fairies do not die. We are meant to be partners with the Kokiri for eternity. And Link...was the only partner I could see myself with. So, when the sages foretold of a dire future for Hyrule, they asked if I could keep this sacred place safe. They infused me with power of their own kind, since they were all mortal...and I am not. The infusion transformed me into the being you see before you. I am immortal. I keep this sacred place safe in stead of the humans who could not, because they are not here. There is a single exception, but when the forest was sealed, her connection to this place died."

The being paused, and then though over her words. "I'm afraid I may have gone overboard...you merely asked my name."

"It was interesting." Link replied. "I feel better being informed, anyway. So your old name was Navi...do you want to keep that name?"

"Not really. My time as a fairy guide was...short. It was full, but..." Her voice trailed off. Link felt her staring at him with an odd intensity, and shook his head. "Call me Naveeta." She said suddenly.

"I think I can handle that." He smiled. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Naveeta smiled back.

"Oh! What about the pink fairies? I found one in the Ice Cavern...it healed me, somehow..."

"There was a pink fairy there?" Naveeta asked, shocked. Link nodded his head. "It means the Great Fairy's have become active again..."

"Great Fairy?" He questioned.

"You'll meet one soon enough. The pink fairies are also immortal, and they will help you on your quest. If you find yourself a bottle, one will travel with you and heal you should you...overexert yourself." The boy gave her a questionable look. "If you die, they can save you. It happened many times to my partner."

Link went pale and he swallowed hard. That did not sound like much fun...but it was nice to know that he could take a little healing helper with him. He tried to shake of the thought of dying by asking his next question. "This pendant and shovel..." He began.

Naveeta floated towards him quickly, examining the objects. "Incredible..."

"I can sense the magical energy in them...but I'm..." Naveeta stopped him.

"I'm surprised you can even do that much. This shovel can fling very heavy things that you normally wouldn't be able to pick up. And this pendant...hmm. You will need access to magical powers yourself to unlock it's full potential. It seems that your knowledge of magic is already founded..."

"My father was an explorer and a swordsman. My mother is a potionsmaster, and she often used magic to mix the potions."

"So you are versed in both."

Link nodded proudly. "But how do I access the full power of this pendant?"

Naveeta smiled. "Practice. Lots and lots of practice. This will take time to do, and I suggest you take breaks and practice sessions while working on restoring this land. We are in no major hurry now that you are rather committed to this task."

The boy paused. "Two more questions."

"Yes?"

"You mentioned that I was chosen. How do you know that?"

Naveeta just stared at him for a second, the laughed loudly. Link was taken aback by the laugh, and she giggled a little more at his confused face. "Ha! The Goddess's I swear have some...humor in their heroes...always clad in green, and those clear as sky blue eyes that go so well with the golden blonde hair of their favorite hero..."

"...I look just like your partner, don't I?"

"You are actually a bit thinner than he was...but I'm sure you'll muscle up in time. You are missing the hat though. That's offsetting."

Link patted the top of his head. "I used to wear one, but I was afraid of it getting lost, so I left if all the way back home. Wait. Then why did you seem so...untrusting of it when I first arrived? You...kind of scared me." The boy admitted.

The glowing blue figure paused. You're name holds significance as well. I must always make sure. You have yet another question?" 

"I saw a weird shadow on my way here. I think it tripped me...somehow. Should it worry me?"

Naveeta froze at the question and stared at him seriously. "Did you get a good look at it?" 

"Not really, it scampered off up some stairs..."

"I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet...continue your journey and I will warn you if it's a threat or not."

Link nodded, and started to turn when Naveeta interrupted him.

"By the way, if you begin to restore this area, it may cause people to come here, and they may have goods to sell. Also, you may want to think about coming back to rest about halfway through a dungeon. You are going to wear yourself awfully thin moving two days in a row like that."

"Two...DAYS?" Link exclaimed, spinning around. "I was in there for two whole days?"

Naveeta nodded. It seemed you found a heart container and it restored you...but I do suggest you get some sleep. I have a bed and furnishing ready for you over on that wall."

Link peered over, just now noticing a very inviting-looking bed pushed against the wall.

"This temple may be sacred, but it is still the only safe structure around. Sleep well, new hero."

Link had made his way over and barely nodded in response as he suddenly understood just how tired he was. Exhausted, he let his gear clamor to the floor and lay in possibly the most comfortable position he had ever slept in.

Link awoke the next day to hear an odd ringing in his head.

"Wake up, sleepy head."

Link tossed for a minute before opening his eyes. He swore he had neard Naveeta's voice, but he didn't see her.

"In your head, Link."

Eyes wide, Link shook his head. He was just hearing things.

"I established a mental connection while you slept. This way, you won't have to wander around with questions distracting you all day. What you see, I will see."

"Ah..." Link breathed, smiling. "This is better." He said.

"You were lonely out there, weren't you?"

Link nodded, a small smile still on his face.

"This way I can help as well. I was able to acquire a few simpler supplies. They are on the shelves next to your bed."

Link swung his legs over, reaching for his gear on the floor and strapping his sword, shovel, and shield to his back. He took the two steps to the shelf, and spied a glass bottle and some rather long sticks, as well as an odd silvery scale thing that seemed to be incased in it's own bubble.

"The sticks are just what I could find from the dead trees around here, but they closely resemble the thick and strong deku stick. Be careful with this, they are hard to find. The glass bottle you will find many uses for. Fairies like to go with you in them, and if we ever get a potion shop, you can hold potions in them. The silver scale is an item that was left behind by my partner, and I happened to find it. It will help you dive into water."

Link looked at the gear and smiled. "Thank you for the help, Naveeta."

"Not a problem." She smiled in return.

Link rushed himself up the stairs that led to the abandoned Kakariko village. Unlike the rest of hyrule, surprisingly, some of the building remained intact. Looking around, the young male was rather intrigued to study the village more before moving on. "This is...surprising..." He murmured. The entire Hylian castle was nowhere in sight, yet this small village has survived this long?

"I am taken aback as well." Naveeta's voice rang in his ears. "I had been confined to the temple since my taking charge of it. I assumed everything had turned into dust like castle town..."

Link mulled over this information carefully. "Maybe it's magical." He suddenly realized, and began running around the small town hoping something would catch his eye. The windmill was broken down and seemed like it would collapse soon if someone didn't come to take care of it. The buildings were mostly intact, but heavily worn and damaged. The roofs were the first thing to go, as some had begun to cave in. "Should probably check the houses for supplies..." He murmured, entering each building he passed. He was surprised to find an old shops that still had some merchandise in them. Old, but still.

He dusted off some sharp tips that were probably on arrows at one point, but the wood had rotted away. He did find strange nuts and a few really old bombs that he decided he didn't want to mess with. Behind one of the shops was what looked like an old potion shop. "Wow..." He peered into a very dusty old cauldron that had a large crack in it. "Hmm..." He closely examined the bottles and left-behind liquids on the shelf. "You're kidding." He heard Naveeta interupt his train of thought. "You can't drink a potion that is literally as old as dirt."

"I know a few tricks, all right?" Link replied, sighing. Most of the bottles in the shop were too old and broken to be used, but he was lucky enough to find a single bottle filled with an obviously discolored health potion. Link popped the cork of the bottle, and the putrid smell made the bile in his stomach bubble. Fighting the nausea, Link excercised his magical abilities with the murmer of a tiny incantation and focused concentration. His eyes squeezed shut from the concentration part, he opened them slolwy to smile in triumph as the potion had returned to it's usual bright red color. He stuck a finger in to retrieve the tiniest drop of the liquid, and tasted it for consistency. "It's good as new." He gleed, popping the cork back in place and stashing the entire bottle in one of his handy pouches.

"That was...impressive." Naveeta admitted.

"I am not a very good potion brewer. But I do know a few tricks to help keep them fresh. I honestly wasn't sure if it was going to work on one that old or not..." He exited the shop and decided that there wasn't much more to see.

"That is a rather handy trick. If we get lucky, we made find some more things like that."

Link simply nodded, already making his way up to the mountain pass. He was surprised to see a stone stake lodged into the ground, a rather lengthy inscription carved into it and a strange symbol on a piece of cloth flapping in the wind. "Naveeta, that symbol, with the eye. What is it?"

"The symbol of the Shiekah. They were protectors of the royal family for many generation. Kakariko was founded by a Shiekah named Impa."

Link walked over and read the inscription.

_With my dying breath I call unto my power to protect this village until the time comes again when it is needed..._

_I serve as a guardian to all of Hyrule, even if it must mean my grave here to stay._

_From beyond the darkness of all darknesses the light of heroes will pierce the evil and slay for justice. _

_And here my spirit will stay to aid in times of need, and to protect the village that I had so lovingly founded..._

The inscription went on and on, labeling details about Kakariko village and the importance of Hyrule's heroes. Link's face grew serious, and he bowed deeply at the gravestone. "Your hard work will not be in vain. I will restore this land and return this village to it's proper, livable state." He swore as if Impa's spirit could hear him. His blue eyes wandered past the stone marker and to the what looked like a snowy path up a tall mountain. Determination lined his face as he cautiously made his way to the mountain pass.


	5. 5: Withstanding Heat

_**I do not own Legend of Zelda or it's characters. **_

It was cool here. An ash-like substance had accumulated on the ground, hardened in some places. The volcano had obviously erupted at least once or twice, cooled molten lava blocked certain passages and walkways, and whatever wasn't covered in hard chunks of lava was caked in the thick, volcanic ash. "It's cold up here..." Link exclaimed, letting out a shiver. He was about halfway up the pass, and the thick clouds above his head told him that the ash had forever contaminated the immediate surrounding area. The village below had survived thanks to the ancient Shiekah barrier, but up here the ash was too dense to escape. The higher up he went, the colder it grew. Finally, he realized he had come across some sort of entryway in the mountain wall. A giant square that looked like it had been cut out of the rock face darkened on the inside, making him unable to see. The ash thick under his boots, he proceeded inside.

"Careful." Naveeta chimed in his head. "I do not know what changes have occured here yet."

Link nodded, treading very carefully along the walkway. Whatever this place was, it looked as dead as the rest of the world. He had walked into a large, three-tiered room, big enough to be called a village. "Goron city." Naveeta corrected him. "The rock-eaters, Gorons, used to live here...I wonder what has become of them." Processing the information in his head, the hero continued to look. His eyes wandered to a section of a far wall where lava had seemed to just burst through and entered the city, encasing everything in its path in a black, rocky form. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." The ash crumpled under his feet. Somewhat protected, the layers were not as thick here, but there had to be some days when the wind would blow in the dense substance. He was able to drop down to the second tier, and was saddened to see that the floor level was almost completely filled with the ash, a large sloped pile covered the majority of the level. Sighing, he turned to face ahead, and stopped dead in his tracks.

Naveeta gave a horrified screech. Standing in front of them was a thick, oval creature, obviously physically tough in nature. It was, however petrified in ash. Link stared at the long-deceased Goron and felt his body turn pale, his stomach churning. Buried alive, basically. The stony figure had a horrendous expression on his face, a look of dread and horror. Link quickly scanned the rest of the level. Stony statues, some fallen over and broken, littered the second level. To his sickening dismay, he saw pieces of other statues poking out from the ash on the ground level as well. The hero stumbled back, reeling at the death in front of him. His felt his stomach shoot to his throat and tasted the foul bile the ran through his mouth.

Coughing, Link wiped his face of with a small cloth, popping the cork of the red potion he had recently acquired and taking the tiniest sip, swishing it in his mouth some to rid himself of the awful taste.

"Are you all right?" Naveeta asked. Her voice sounded incredibly strained.

"Fine..." He replied, coughing once more. "Just...this is horrible."

"I...met these people."

All Link could think of was how much harder it must be on her. Grimacing, he gave a deep bow of respect to the dead, muttering a small prayer before continuing to explore the are. He fought his agitated stomach while searching the area, and was surprised enough to walk into an old general store. The counter was dusty and old, but a few things remained intact. He walked behind the counter and searched the shelves. Many of the items were coated in ash or too old to be used, and he nearly gave up until his hand patted something soft. Curious, he picked up whatever it was, and shook out the ash, revealing a worn red tunic. Link could practically see the smile when she spoke.

"That's a Goron Tunic! It can withstand extremely high temperatures..."

"It's magical properties must of perserved it."

"Probably."

Link pocketed the tunic, and left the room. He found little else in the area, and began to wonder where it was he was supposed to go. "Naveeta...what are we looking for?"

"Well...I was hoping to see if the fire temple was open...but it seemed that to entrance is blocked..."

"So now what?"

"We could try to get into Dodongo's Cavern...however, I doubt there is little there to be of use to us..."

"It's our only shot, right?"

"True..."

"Then let's go." He turned to leave, making his way back down most of the mountain to find the entrance to this Dodongo Cavern.

It was sealed. Completely and utterly sealed. "Now what?" Link muttered under his breath, nearly swearing. There was a small crack in the lava wall, but not enough to pry at or even to bomb.

"I know of something that could open this...but I do not know how to acquire it."

"What is it?" 

"It is called the Megaton Hammer, and it is extremely powerful. I am just...unsure of where it could be now..."

"I'll scour every foot of this mountain until I find something." Link replied, determined. He was already annoyed, but couldn't stand the thought of letting his frustration get the best of him.

Nearly a full day later, Link was ready to turn in for the night. He was exhausted from climbing and dodging falling rocks, nearly losing an arm at one point.

"You should get some rest." Naveeta chimed in.

"I'm inclined to agree." Link replied in a grim tone. I found little on the mountain that led anywhere else but a giant stone slab. There was one area that seemed to head somewhere but for he just wanted to turn back and get some sleep.

The Kakariko village inn was dusty and the sheets were a little moth-eaten, but the soft mattress and pillow were much better than what he was accustomed to. "This...is going to be a great sleep." He sighed contentedly.

"Good night, young hero." Naveeta soothed, her presence fluttering from his mind as he closed his eyes into a deep, deep slumber.

_The room was foggy and clear all at once. Mirror-like water in a shallow pool at his ankles. A single patch of sand, perfectly round, with a sickly-looking tree standing at the dead center of the room. _

"I have been waiting for so long..."

_Link cocked his head at the voice, somehow familiar, although he was sure he had never heard it before._

"You look kinda different...though I don't suppose it matters anymore...you just don't care enough."

_Who was he? He did not show himself and the voice seemed to come from every direction._

"YOU LEFT ME!"

_The voice screamed, piercing his ears._

"YOU LEFT ME AND NEVER CAME BACK!"

Link bolted up from his sleep in a cold sweat, breathing hard and swatting his hand to his head. "The hell was that..." The confusion in his voice was thick, and he tried to shake himself off the foreboding feeling that threatened to take him over. "Just a dream." He told himself, but for some reason he was having a hard time believing it.

"A room full of shadow water and a tiny island?" Naveeta questioned later, after he had set out.

"Yes. It seemed that it was an island of sand, and a single dead tree was in the very center of the room. It was the most realistic dream..." The voice in his head failed to reply. The green-clad hero waited patiently as he walked, but still she said nothing. Shrugging, he worked his way down the newly-found path in the mountain that reached all the way to the back area of the region.

"That room you described..." She finally said after what was quite possibly hours. "It's a room in the water temple."

Link stopped digging at the wall he was working on and tilted his head. "So you mean...the place in my dream exists?"

"Yes...the Hero of Time fought and defeated his own copy...his near-literal shadow. It was a creation by the king of evil, and it was called Dark Link. It was a very close battle...but a copy is still just a copy. Even so, my partner could not deliver the killing blow. He felt something for the creature. Though it did bleed real blood and seemed to have cohesive thoughts. It was our first enemy like that, really. When the bars lifted he sheathed his sword and offered his hand to the Dark shadow, and the shadow accepted...they talked for hours. Dark was confined to that room. The Hero of Time told him he would find a way to free his shadow, and allow him to leave...but after Ganon was destroyed, the Hero had to leave right away. He didn't have the time to ever go back..."

Naveeta's story sent a series of chills down Link's spine. "You think that shadow is still alive?"

"Hard to say..." His mental guide replied. "He had already been there for several years, able to sustain himself without clean water or proper food. If he truly is a wholly magical creature, then it's very possible, yes. And judging on your dream last night...that was apparently incredibly realistic...I'd say there was an incredibly good chance that he is still alive. My main worry is what the years of being alone that long would have done to him...and the sting of apparent betrayal by my former partner..."

Link sensed dismay in the final sentance, and smiled, even though she couldn't see him. "Aw, cheer up. We'll go find him soon and explain everything to him. Maybe he can still be saved."

"I almost wish it so, Link." Naveeta replied sadly.

"So...how come the defeat of Ganon didn't free him?"

There was a long pause. "My guess is that his tie to the temple was created to exist outside of Ganon's control. Many of his minions could sustain themselves without his help, they simply chose to work for him."

"I...see." Link paused, staring at the gound in front of him. "There was something here..." He murmured. "Something huge." He examined the area around him. He had just crawled over a few sharp rocks and was now standing in an enormous oval-shaped crater.

"Wait...have far have we gone?" The voice in his head asked urgently.

"We've almost rounded the mountain." The blonde hero replied.

Silence. Link turned around, and looked at the jagged rocks behind him. Taking a closer look, he inspected the rubble around the area. "This used to be a wall."

"A very tall one." Naveeta replied. "This is where big Goron lived. He was enormous..."

"A Goron?" Link again scanned the surrounding area. It was the right shape, but a creature this monstrously huge? Incredible.

"He forged a extra long sword for my partner. He was a very good smith."

"...What did he forge in?"

"I am not sure."

Link shook his head, and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "It's...getting awfully warm..."

"We are in a desert."

"No, I mean...warmer." He continued, finding it more difficult to trudge along the large crater-type imprint on the land. He felt a sudden wave of heat exude from the place he was headed, which seemed to be a wide path leading downard.

"Put on the Goron tunic..." Naveeta chimed, sounding cautious.

"The volcano seems inactive..." Link began to argue, but then paused. There may still be hotspots in the surrounding area. Sitting down, Link peeled his green tunic from himself, lifting it over his head and digging around for the dusty red one. Pulling it out of his pocket, he shook it a couple more times to free it from whatever dust he could and pulled it over his head. "Hm. Red looks good on me."

"Green is your color. Trust me." A sharp reply.

"Fine." Link pocketed the green tunic, and proceeded forward, suddenly finding it easier to walk about the heat. "This is an amazing piece of magical wear..." He admired, still amazed it lasted as long as this. The wide path seemed to go on forever, and spiral downward. "Naveeta, is it just me? Or does this path lead back under the volcano?"

"It's leading you to the core..." She replied in obvious amazement.

"The core? I'll be burned alive!" Sweat drenched his body. It was so hot the further he went...he was honestly not sure if he could take much more.

"You'll survive as long as you are wearing red."

She didn't sound completely convinced, and frankly, neither was he. Taking a deep breath, Link began to just run as fast as he could down the path, seeing where it would lead. Surprise overtook him as he stopped just short of a sheer cliff that radiated heat. Peering over the edge, he saw nothing but molten lava, ready to burn him alive. Link swallowed hard, and Naveeta urged him to continue. Link spotted a narrow passageway to his right, and slowly made his way down it.

Once he made it across, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank the Goddesses..." he breathed, turning to examine the immediate surroundings.

"This WAS the entrance to the fire temple..." Naveeta said heavily.

Link turned his head to see a closed-off entryway, one that would be nearly impossible to get through, even with bombs. "There is an odd pathway over there." He pointed out, even though he knew it was silly to do so. He heard the approval in his partner's voice.

"Head there."

The narrow passage led down another thirty feet and to a platform that had a solid stone door. Link stopped to clear the sweat from his eyes several time, but he was finally able to make it down and push the heavy door open, wondering what else could lay in store for him in the near-literal hellhole of a place.


	6. 6: Under Mountains

_**I do not own Legend of Zelda or any of it's characters.**_

_**Reviews would be loved. :)**_

It was so hot. Blisters threatened to erupt from his heated skin but he long walkway that spiraled downward was the only clue they had, so forward the hero went. "This is crazy..." He muttered to himself, looking around warily. Fire pits spewed heat mere inches from his face. Odd slug-creatures threatened to burn him alive before he cut them down. And the keese here held the ability to set themselves aflame.

Link looked around to make sure his path was clear and safe before setting down on the heated rock floor. "This is excruciating..." He exclaimed, trying to rally his energy while in intense heat drained i away.

"It's possible that the tunics magics have faded over the years..." The voice in his head chimed.

"Did your partner have so much trouble in this volcano?"

"The heat does seem to be affecting you...sooner." Her hesitant reply said.

"I see. We had better hurry then." He stood, brushed himself off, and proceeded to jog down the hallway. He was surprised to come across a sliding door. "Huh...isn't that interesting?" He pushed the door into the wall, and proceeded forward.

CLANG, THUNK! The door barred behind him. Link spun, wide-eyed, and fought his insticts to run and pry at the bars bare-handed.

"There may be enemies about." Naveeted said in a calming voice.

Link took a deep breath, relaxing himself of the small predicament. But Naveeta seemed more worried about a monster than the barred door, so he decided to focus on searching the room. His sword drawn, and his shield up, Link slowly began to circle the room.

Surprise colored his face as an enormous lizard-like creature that stood on two legs stared him down with beady red eyes. It made a loud, eerie squawking noice, and wore steel armor of all things, wielding two short swords. "Naveeta..." Link felt his doubt tugging in his mind.

"It's all right, you can do this." She said reassuringly. "Attack when he doesn't."

Link felt the sword shake in his hand. "Okay..." The creature rounded on him, and made an impressive jump, leaping towards the blonde boy and slicing down with his swords The blonde instictively rolled away from the attack, purposely rounding his roll so he spun around the creature, then shot himself from the ground, twisting all the way to perform and upwards slice at the thing's back.

It screeched in pain, angrily spinning and slicing at it's attacker. Link dodged, barely, and bashed at it with his shield. He unintentionaly rammed the lizard right in the skull, as it had leaned in at the last second for whatever reason. Link tried to get his brain to work with his body to take advantage of the situation, and successfully cut the creature at the through, killing it and allowing the thick blood to seep onto the ground.

Link took in a long breath, heaving his chest. "That was...something."

"Wonderfully done, really." Naveeta said. She sounded really happy.

SHINK. Link eyed the doors to the room as the bars miraculously lifted. "Huh...how come they don't just leave me locked in here?"

"I've never been sure of that myself." It sounded like she waned to say more, but Link didn't feel like prying.

"That's the door we came in." She chimed as he went to open the sliding stone door.

Link pulled away sheepishly and walked across the room to the new door. He heard a small laugh in his head. "Do not worry. That will not be the first time that happens." He could practically hear the smile in her voice.

He pushed the door open and stepped into a room filled with tall walls. He was standing on pathway, just large enough for one person to walk through comfortably, and it split into three directions. Left, right, and forward. Link's face fell as he realized where he was. "This is a maze...wait." He spotted a plaque on a wall in front of him. He turned to read it. "Follow a compass to where the sun sets. Oh. We go west." He smiled, searching his pant pockets for a small, almost rusty compass that he has had since he was little. He watched the needle settle looked around. "Hm..." He tried to calculate his exact location, but with all the twist and turns just getting to this room, he decided to let the compass tell him. For some reason the direction it was telling him was bugging him. The needle settled, and Link followed it west.

Similar plaques littered the walls, and he made sure to read any that he saw. Some were misleading, and others were just cryptic. Finally, he came to a dead end that held a switch on the wall and a pedastal protruding from the ground. Dismayed, he leaned forward to read the plaque on the pedastal.

"This trick room will have you fumbling unless you hit a switch,

For then your compass will go unhitched."

Link blinked twice at the odd saying, but curiously pulled the switch on the wall. He heard something big moving, and the scraping of metal and stone almost hurt his sensitive ears. He checked his compass and was thoroughly shocked to see that the needle had done a complete 180-degree turn. It had been messed with he whole time!

"The first turn was wrong then..." He mused, and proceeded to navigate his way back to the entrance. After some doing, he found the first door he entered in, and headed the opposite direction, making to sure to keep an extra eye out for the cryptic plaques. He finally was able to navigate his way to another dead end, but for the time being only found a small silver key. He sighed, and continued to attempt to navigate his way through the maze. "At least it's not so hot in here at least..." He menioned to himself in attempt to comfort his weary mind.

"Link." Naveeta chimed. "You've been at this for several hours. I suggest you take a nap someplace."

"Maybe...that's not such a bad idea." Link thought. He looked around, a bit, then pulled out his green tunic and a thin blanket from his inner pocket to use as a pillow. "I am suddenly...very tired."

"I'll wake you in a few hours." The voice in his head chimed.

Link barely registered it before the world went into a comforting darkness again...

_He found himself laying face-down in the water, cuts stinging his body and bruising decorating his skin, sore from their freshness. _

"Thought you could get away, h-uh? Thought you could leave again?"

_I don't know this guy, this isn't my fault, what am I supposed to do? His voice cackled insanely._

"You know I wished to leave...I thought you cared..."

_He saw a glimpse of metal shine as it rushed towards his face..._

"GYAHHH!" Link shouted, flipping himself up off the ground in his waking second. "Aughh.." He panted hard, wiping the sweat from his face and rubbing his eyes.

"Are you all right?" A voice asked. It was thick with concern.

"Fine...just...another one of those dreams. I'll fill you in as we continue..." He gathered his belongings and read the closest plaque he could find. It only took a little bit longer to find what they were looking for. A large chest sat square at a dead end. Excited, Link ran towards it, unhitched the top and opening the heavy wooden lid...

He reached in and grabbed a large hammer, it was so heavy he had to hold it with both hands. "It's huge."

"The Megaton Hammer!" Naveeta squealed excitedly. "The wall in front of us, Link." She exclaimed.

He looked up and the somewhat cracked wall in front of them. He eyed the hammer once, and then walked forward, positioning the new weapon high before swinging it like a baseball bat into the wall. The wall cracked a bit more before crumbling into worthless rubble. He gleed over the new weapon. It was nice, it was huge and heavy, but it was also fun. He continued to wander through the rest of the inner caverns of the mountain, defeating a few more enemies and hopping across dangerous lava-filled pits with the utmost care. He finally ran into a large room with a massive fire surrounding a door. "It's too hot..." Link finally exclaimed after rounding the fire a couple of times. "Even with he tunic..." He pondered, then reached his hand towards his chest where the pendant of icy winds was. "It's worth a try..." He muttered, then focused on releasing his magic power through the little blue ball. He felt the wind whistle in his ears and blow through his hair, but kept his eyes shut in focused concentration. He felt the magic radiate from his body and focus through the little gem around his neck and felt it blanket the air around him. Once the wind stopped, he relaxed with a deep breath, and opened his eyes to see the fire gone and the door clearly visible, a large golden lock ordorning it. Link fingered the impractical golden key in his hands before walking up to the door and fumbling around with the unneccessarily large lock. It opened with a loud 'chink' and the lock crashed with the stone floor.

Link stepped into the room cautiously. A small platform floated in the middle of a massive lava pit. "I do not have a good feeling about this..." He muttered to himself, anxiously awaiting he appearance of his enemy. Naveeta had not said anything in awhile. He walked to the edge of the platform, and frowned when he saw other smaller platforms littered the lava pool. Taking a deep, nervous breath, he hopped down onto one of the floating platforms. His worry deepend when he noticed not all of the floating pieces of rock seemed stable and had already began to sink.

A growling noice echoed the large room, and Link spun to see where it was coming from. His eyes darted everywhere. It echoed a second time. Nervousness growing, Link held his sword at the ready. The lava just a few feet in front of him began to bubble and...draw up in on itself? The lava _moved_, despite having no physical way of doing so. Sweat that didn't come from the incredible heat trickled down his neck and brow, and he tasted salt as he licked his lips nervously. The bubbling lava grew into a large mount of lava, and two huge, ugly black eyes popped out of the mound, a toothless mouth growled hungrily, and many dark gems protruded from the gellantenous-looking creatures body. This monster was also large, and Link soon found that it was safe to assume he could control all the lava in the room. A small wave of lava threatened to swallow him, so he relied on his reflexes to jump to the next floating platform. The wave overtook the piece of rock, and died down so the piece could float back to the top. Link sheathed his sword and focused on deflecting the fires with his shield, calling upon the icy wind as he hopped around dodging lava blasts and waves.

The pendants magic seemed to work and the blob got smaller and smaller, shooing away the lava and leaving a large gem-encrusted rock out in the open. Link hopped to the platform is was on and pulled out his hammer, smashing the rock with it once, then twice...when a horrible screeching noise almost made him drop the weapon as the monsters core was dragged back into the lava. Link continued to dodge as best as he could, burns now covering his exposed body. He hissed in pain as one of his jumps fell short and his leg was caught in the burning creatures hands. The creature was reduced to it's core for a second time and this time Link focused on hitting it as hard as he could.

His face fell in dismay as the core was sucked back into the lava, obviously wounded but still not out for the count, and the monster reared itself up, using tentacles of lava to slice off pieces of rock from the wall and hurdle them at the poor hero. Desperately Link dodged, favoring his wounded leg as best as he could and calling upon the last bits of his magic to cool the beast. Relief flooded him when the core was exposed the third time and he rushed to it, slamming down with the hammer once more...

The gems shattered under the weight, rock and gem splintering everywhere. The beast screamed and yelped death gasps, grasping desperately to his life force before he was consumed in a black-purple smoke. The lava almost instantly dissapeared, cooling quickly to create a solid floor. Link collapsed to the floor, trying his best not to cry out in pain over his badly burned leg.

"Link!" Naveeta's voice sounded shrill. " What happened?"

"There you are..." He said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, I thought I mentioned my counciousness would have been occupied for awhile. Are you all right?"

"I...I'm not sure." Link answered honestly. "Never been burned like this before..." The pain was blinding. He spotted something that had landed next to him from the ashes of his felled enemy. It was a oddly-shaped container with a thick red liquid inside. He reached for it, brushing it with his fingertips, then forced himself to scoot a little bit closer so he could grab the sweet-tasting container and heartily began drinking the liquid out of it.

"That should help." Naveeta said.

Link nodded. It dulled the pain in his leg quite a bit, but he noticed that he still felt bruised and battered, even after finishing off the sweet, life-restoring snack. "What are these things anway?" He wondered as he munched.

"They are called Heart Containers. I don't know who named them, but they appear after darkness has been cleansed. They seem to hold raw energy."

Link finished the treat and tried to stand up, but found that hard to do yet. "It didn't heal me as well as I thought it would."

"Your injury is severe. It will take time, even with potions, to heal properly."

"Damn..." Link stared at the injured leg, red and blistering from it's contact with lava. The container really helped, he was in no danger of losing it as he feared he would. But walking would still prove to be a problem. "I'm going to rest here for as long as I can." He said alound. He heard no protests.

At least a day must have passed in this large, empty room. He had tried to just sleep as much as possible, and drank a small amount of potion whenever he felt the need. I was getting better, but not fast enough. He sighed, wondering how long he could survive on 3/4 jar of potion and no water or food.

"I'll figure something out." Naveeta had said hours ago. Her counciousness hasn't returned yet.

Link jumped as a creaking from the other side of the room caught his attention. He froze, wondering what on earth could be left here. He was surprised to hear a hefty cough, and a calling out.

"Is anyone there?"

A person? Another person? Link stared. Someone had pushed a boulder from the opposite side of the entrance, leading to an open tunnel. "H-here!" He called, praying that this person was a friend and not a foe.

He heard another cough, and a large, wrinkly light-brown creature appeared. Link recognized him immediately. He was a Goron. A very, very old Goron. He coughed again. "Ah, there you are..." He coughed again. He carried a hefty walking stick and Link noticed another, much younger Goron next to him. "Sir..." The younger said.

"Please...go help our savior...I can make it back." The elder retorted.

Link was bewildered. "Gorons?" He said dumbly as the younger of the two approached him. "But-I thought-"

"You released a great deal of dark magic from this place when you defeated Slungara." The young Goron said. "The sudden change in the air revived many of us."

"R-really?" Link felt a smile break into his face, large and gleaming.

The Goron nodded. "Yes, although some of us are still lost to he ashes-"

The hero's face fell quite a bit.

"-we are still ever-grateful for our second chance at life." He continued.

Link nodded. "I...understand. I'm sorry you've lost friends, though..."

"Please, it's better this way. A Goron doesn't really 'die' until they've returned to the ground. Back into rocks and the earth. Our brothers encased in ashes have been suffering, and we can now properly bury them and send them on their after-death way."

Link's eyes widened in shock. "My gosh..."

"Come brother. You are heavily wounded." The Goron offered his hand. Link acceped it with a small smile. "Thank you..."

The Goron had no problem supporting the limping Link through the tunnel. "What is your name, broher?"

"Ah...Link. I came from very far away."

The Goron paused, and stared over the hero carefully. "Yes...yes, I remember now. Ah, it's been so long brother..." Then he stopped, as if thinking very hard. "How long...have we been asleep I wonder?"

Link frowned at he familiarity with him in the Goron's voice, but proceeded to reply. "This land of Hyrule...it hasn't been used in centuries. Dark magic has seeped into the very land, warding all people away from it..."

This time the Goron stopped walking altogether. "Then how...is it possible that YOU are here?"

Link stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"We share a name." The Goron explained. "I am named Link after the hero who saved us during the great rock famine and who fought back the dragon Volvagia duiring Ganondorf's reign over he land!"

Link gave the Goron a sad smile. "I am his...reincarnation, I guess." He replied, making the Goron stare at him, agape. "The Goddesses chosen hero, or something. A hero that is born with a destiny...for a time." He surprised himself at how easy this explanation was to say. Even in his head it didn't really seem completely believable.

The Goron, also named Link, shook his head. "This world is a strange one, brother."

The green-clad hero nodded, smiling a bit. "I know."


	7. 7: Regrouping Race

_**I do not own Legend of Zelda or any of their characters.**_

_**I've been steadily making the chapters longer...unintentionally. I really don't mean for that to continue. Dx Unless people like it that way? Reviews would be loved. 3**_

Link liked the Gorons, he decided after spending two full days with them.

The Goron city was slowly but surely being cleaned out, the broken walls rebuilt and all the worn down walls were being maintainenced. The very first thing they did was a head count of their brothers, and a mass funeral was held for those who were not saved by the sudden release of dark magic from the mountain. Link attended the sad occassion, standing outside as the Gorons said words of prayers to the Goddesses and laid the corpses of their brothers to rest. Goron Link had carried him the entire time however, and he currently laid in a stone bed, softened by rugs and blankets, his leg propped up and healthy doses of potion on a nightstand next to him.

His reflection of the past couple of days was interrupted by a knocking on the door. "I have lunch!" Goron Link called through the thick door.

Link smiled. The Goron and he have come to look up to one another. "Thank you!" He called, and the bulky creature allowed himself in, looking a little silly carrying a tray with a plate of food and glass of water. "Sorry the food isn't that great..."

Link shook his head. "It's fine." He replied, feeling his hunger intensify with the smell of cooked bird. "I like it."

Goron Link set the tray down, and the blonde teenager eagerly ate the meat, stripping it away from the bones so he wouldn't choke on any small pieces. The Goron made a face that could be called a grimace, even though is stone-like features made it hard to tell. "I can't imagine eating anything other than the rocks from the cavern. Oh...speaking of which."

"You need me to open that up for you, don't you?" Link said for him, looking up from his food.

"Uh...if you can."

"I don't mind. I was going to crack it open anyway. I was trying to get into it before..." Link's eyes drifted to the large hammer at the foot of the bed.

"Thank you, that would really help. Although, you've done more than help us..." His voice trailed off thoughtfully.

"Please, don't worry about it. You've kept me here long enough as a thank you, and tomorrow I should be well enough to continue my endeavor." He'd have to stock up on supplies first, and keep a walking stick handy, but he had already decided that he wanted to head to his next part of the land.

"So soon? It will take a couple more days at least for you to walk properly..."

"Sorry, but I really must be figuring out my next step." He replied apologetically.

"If you're sure..." But the Goron didn't seem convinced. "Tell me how you feel tomorrow first, at lesat." He said, then stood to leave. "My father would like to talk to you as well...he's old, and the...uh, past problem has taken a massive toll on what little health he had left...but if he's up to it tomorrow, he'd like to speak with you at least once."

Link nodded. "Thank you for everything." He said, and gave a respectful nod to his friend.

Link never did get a chance to speak to the Goron chief Darunia. He had died in his sleep the previous night, the years of being frozen in time too great for his fragile body to take. Goron Link had come to his room early that morning, the poor Goron was near tears the entire time he spoke.

Link felt more than sympathetic. He was sad. Unsure of what to say in the current situation, he simply patted the poor Goron's shoulder encouragingly. The Goron sniffed, and handed link a small,smooth walking stick. "I-I made this last night...I couldn't sleep, thinking you were leaving in that condition, so...I made this for you..." Link's heart broke for his friend. "I truly am sorry." He said, looking his Goron friend in the eye with his quickly liquidating blue eyes. "I just..." He paused, trying to find the right words. "When I freed Zora Domain from the ice that kept it at bay, I _revived_ not only the Domain, but a part of Hyrule itself. Grass is growing out there. After who knows how long. And then to find out that a large portion of a whole race was freed from death...I have to know what else I can do to help this land. It's important."

The Goron nodded, hanging his head only slightly, but wrapping his arms around the thin boy regardless. "Please return to us, brother."

"I'll come and visit, I promise." Link replied, welcoming the awkward embrace. "Oh, wait!" He exclaimed. Goron Link pulled back, giving him a funny look. Link reached over the bed and grabbed one of his leather pouches, opening it and digging around until he revealed a carefully wrapped something. "I need to restore this." Link unwrapped the still very dead-looking Goron Ruby.

Goron Link gasped at the artifact, it's current condition horrifying him. "What in all of-? What happened to it?"

"It's power is gone...the other two as well. Killing that ice...thing restored the Sapphire, but this is still..."

Goron Link gingerly grasped the Ruby, examining it closely. "I believe...I have the power to restore this."

The blonde hero blinked, a little surprised. "Really? That would be amazing!"

The Goron gave him a stern look. "I felt something last night...when my father passed. I think I can help you...no, I was meant to help you. Here..." He held the ruby firmly in his hands, allowing his eyes to close and he called upon the help of his brothers in spirit. Link couldn't understand what he was saying, but it was comforting whatever it was. He watched in pleasant amazement when the ruby began to hover from the Goron's fingertips, a red light blinding him.

Goron Link collapsed on the ground, and Link had to lean in to grab the ruby before it fell, now shining and brilliant as if it was new. "Amazing...Link, are you all right?" The blonde asked concerned, wishing he had the strength to help his friend up.

Goron Link stood up, groaning and shaking his head. "That was not a pleasant experience..." But his face lit up when he spied the ruby, fully restored to it's former glory. "YES! I did it!" He laughed happily, overjoyed at the victory.

"Thank you so much." Blonde Link said, smiling happily.

"No, thank you for returning it to be restored. The Goron's Ruby was a great treasure to us...and I'm sure you will need it still." His face saddened. "I should leave now, brother. I have...duties to attend to." Goron Link waved at him, and left to tend to the preparations of his father's funeral.

Link wiggled his fingers back at his dissapearing friend before he sat upright in the bed to tend to binding his leg and keeping it clean. He then dressed properly, deciding to wear the faded red tunic still just in case, and mounted the shovel, sword, and shield onto his back. The Megaton hammer hung at his waist nicely, and he could feel a slight cool breeze eminate from the pendant around his neck. Pulling his boots up, Naveeta's charming voice whistled in his head.

"You are leaving already?" She exclaimed, surprised.

"I have things to finish...I feel bad for my friend, but he has his duties here, and I am needed elsewhere. I feel it. I need to leave today."

"If that is what you think..." The voice lowered to a whisper. "I feel I should tell you this..."

"Yes?"

"Something is bothering me about Darunia. When I last saw him he was obviously an older Goron, the elder even then and in charge...but he was nowhere near death."

"What are you saying Naveeta?" Link asked, confused.

"I think...it may be possible that I've miscalculated the time that has passed since the previous Link...Goron's live to be very, very old sometimes...and to hear that Darunia is passed, _after_ being encased in ashes for so long...worries me."

Link nodded, and grasped the smoothed handle of the finely crafted walking stick, a small smile gracing his face as he did so. "We can talk about it out in the field. Right now I must say good bye to these good people." Heaving himself, he began to limp through the tiered city, looking around. Two empty bottles were hidden within his stores of items, and he intended to fill them. Making his way to the floor level shop, and being stopped by every Goron on the way, Link greeted the shop owner with a wide smile.

"Brother hero Link!" The shopkeeper exclaimed. "What an honor to see you for myself!"

Link smiled broadly, happy that the Goron was so enthusiastic. "Thank you, but really, I'm just an archeologist. Do you have potions?"

"Ehhm...let's see. The terrain outside has changed, so I haven't been able to find many ingrediants...I think I've given you about all I've had already."

Link's eyes went wide, appauled at himself for forgetting the situation and asking for more. "I-I'm sorry, I..."

The Goron laughed. "I didn't mean it like that. Honestly, I'd love to help." He paused, then put his hand to his chin and pondered. "If I had my old stock I could whip it up, but...well, you know..."

Link's face brightened a bit. "Have you cleaned our your old stuff yet?"

The Goron gave him a puzzled look. "No, not yet...been busy with restoring the city...then Big Brother Darunia died last night..." The Goron had a look of severe sadness cross his face at the mention of that, and Link's heart dropped to his stomach. "I am sorry for your loss."

"It's all right..." The Goron responded. "We've lost many brothers, we are happy just to be able to say good bye to him properly."

Link realized that the Goron race was proud and strong, and grew to admire them even more for it. "Anyway, the old stuff is in the back...probably all either petrified or spoiled by now." He led Link to the back room, pushing stuff out of the way and grabbing a newly-made broom to sweep the ash out as best as he could. Link looked over the stores wares, some of it would be completely lost. "I think I can do this..." He muttered to himself, and leaned his back against the well for support. He set the walking stick at his side, and spread his hands out in front of him. He closed his eyes, taking deep, relaxing breaths as he did so, and began muttering incoherent words, channeling his magic power through his hands and into the air around him, hoping to blanket the wares with the power.

The shopkeeper returned just a couple minutes later, finding Link in a deep magical trance. The Goron's mouth fell open as he felt the air around him shift, and the old wares slowly but surely grew their color back. He watched and stared for a full ten minutes before Link's muttering stopped and he let his hands fall gently to his sides, groping for the walking stick.

"Brother..." The shopkeeper breathed, unbelieving what he just saw. "That was amazing..." Link smiled back at him. "There. That should help get things started for your store again." He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his glove, feeling a little exerted from the large amount magical energy it took to restore his wares. "Happy to help." He added with a goofy grin, leaning on his walking stick and he hobbled back to the front store.

"Brother, wait right here! I'll mix up some potions for you!"

Link nodded appreciatedly, and waited as the Goron snatched his two empty bottles from his hands and rushed to the back room to make the potions.

A little bit later Link was finally on his way, plenty of clean bandages and medical supplies, including two very full bottles of potions, stored safely away in his pouches. "So Naveeta..." Link asked his mentally linked friend. "Where are we going next?"

"The forest, but I am not sure how to get there. It has been magically sealed from the rest of Hyrule since the dark magic threat began."

"Um...that could be a problem."

"Yes. Yes it could. I was hoping that bringing life back to at least two of the other regions would be enough, but...I still cannot sense any connection of this land to the forest."

"So what do we do?" Link asked.

"Turn right." Naveeta chimed sharply, and Link instantly swiveled to turn, entering a dark, deep hallway on the top floor of Goron City. It didn't go as deep as he thought, however, and it was blocked by a solid wall of rock and rubble.

"Darn...these used to be a direct passage to the lost woods."

"I don't think even a Goron could unblock this anytime soon." Link said, sighing. He proceeded to leave Goron City, looking around for anything of interest.

"Head towards the summit..." Naveeta said slowly.

"Huh? But we've already been there."

"I would like to check something."

Link simply nodded and rounded the corner from the Goron City entrance, looking around and the section of destroyed mountain.

"There!" Naveeta screeched, causing Link to wince.

Link spied what she was referring too. A deep, perfectly circular hole lay in the ground, just a ways behind the ciry entrance. "What is it?"

"Jump down the hole. Trust me."

"With an injured leg? Are you sure?"

"Trust me." She repeated.

Link sighed, and sat down on the ground, allowing his legs to dangle in the small hole before pushing himself off, allowing himself to fall down and attempting to position his fall to roll on impact with the ground.

He was surprised when he felt himself gently floating, his feet calmly touching the ground and had to scramble to ready his walking stick. Limping forward, Link heard the sound of gently moving water and felt vibrations against the walls. This place was alive. Moving a step or two closer and he could make out a gorgeous spring, something similiar to jewels raining down the walls and two grand torches on either side of the pure white pathway. A small step with the Triforce symbol decorated in pure gold caught his attention. "What is this place?" He wondered, dumbstruck.

"A Great Fairy Fountain...I didn't think this through. You don't have an instrument."

"Why do I need an instrument?"

"The Fairy can be summoned by playing the Lullaby of the Princess...but..."

"Zelda's Lullaby?"

"Yes! Um...you know it?"

"Yes, I do. I could sing it."

Naveeta quieted. "I...I would like to hear that."

Link sat down to rest his leg, and straightened his back. "I'm actually not a bad singer." He said almost sheepishly, his face turning the faintest hint of red. "I enjoy it at least."

"Well, go on." The voice in his head rang.

"Y-yeah..." Link licked his lips a bit, and then thought about the song, the tune for just a moment before inhaling and letting out his silky smooth singing voice...

_Day by Day,_

_And Night by Night,_

_We will sing his praise tonight,_

_Sleeping Princess, owe all to him._

_Go and meet your fate. _

_Here in all of us,_

_Present this generation, _

_Our part is not ours, to decide._

_Day by Day,_

_And Night by Night,_

_Hero, we sing your praise, tonight._

_Touched by time, generations within, _

_O Goddess, know your fate!_

_Time and again we know,_

_Time and again we owe,_

_Our lives, to this very day!_

Link smiled contentendly, the song warming his heart.

A high-pitched laughed shook the calm from him and knocked him backwards, making him fall off the step. A scantily-clad woman, rather large with wild hair strewn in thick locks behind her, floated elegently above the spring, looking down at him as he stared with wide, blue eyes.

"You've returned hero. Wonerful singing performance, one of the best ones I've had the honor of hearing." She smiled a brilliant white smile.

"G-Great Fairy?" Link squeaked.

"Yes. Now-my, that's a nasty wound. And I see you have some magical ability already...hm. Here. Accept my gift to aid you in your quest."

She reached her arms out to him, giggling lightly, and Link felt the power envelope him, teaching him something and mending his leg. He had felt magic before, he knew what magic power felt like. This 'Great Fairy'...was not someone he would want to get on the bad side of. She was dripping with power. He felt himself lift off the ground for a few mere seconds before standing up on his own again, testing out his leg, delighting that it didn't hurt to walk on anymore. He also realized that he now had the knowledge to usher magic into his sword, something he was sure he wouldn't have been able to do before.

"I, ah...thank you." He nodded politely. The Fairy simply tilted her head in acknowledgement before letting out another high-pitched laugh and dissapearing into the spring. Link heaved a sigh to relax himself from the very powerful magical encounter, and turned to leave.

"That was beautiful." Naveeta said wistfully.

"I thought she was a little...superflous." Link replied.

"Oh, not her. You. Your singing."

"Oh. That." Link blushed heavily. "I've always enjoyed singing."

"You are very good."

"Um...How do I-?"

"Step on the pedestal that you landed on." She said before he could finish. Link stepped up onto the stone, and felt himself being lifted to the surface. "Incredible." He muttered, and began to make his way down Death Mountain. "So Naveeta...what are we going to try?"

"Our best bet may be to just try the direct entry...we will have to go across Hyrule field."

"All the way across?" He asked.

"You'll have to camp at the Ranch for the night." She replied.

Link sighed heavily. "All right. I had better get a move on then..." He began to jog his way down the mountain, looking up every once in awhile to see a group birds flying high above him. He smiled, happy to see life in the area. Kakariko village still looked worn down and sad, but he was confident that people would be attracted to the area soon enough. Stopping by the hotel to borrow some more comfortable bedding, Link decided to continue to press on since less than half the day had been used coming down the mountain. He jogged down the cracked, run-down stairs of the village and turned the corner. He froze, rubbing his aways to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

The river flowed freely, crisp and clean. Small flowers began to bloom along the rivers edge, and he could even see life returning to the old, dead trees in the ground. He paused. "This should be taking longer...shouldn't it?"

"Normally, yes. But remember, Hyrule has been crippled by a magical force. Once that is removed, things will return as they were before that instance happened."

Link nodded in understanding. "Yes, of course...like the Gorons." He proceeded to make his way across the vast Hyrulian field, relishing the site of green grass among the still mostly sandy wasteland.


	8. 8: Forest Folk

_**I do not own Legend of Zelda or any of it's characters.**_

_**Reviews would beloved. 3 Eh, I hope things aren't too angsty in this chapter...but then again, dealing with people like this, it's kinda difficult to decide how they should act.**_

Chapter 8

Three days of walking and Link had finally made it. He stood at the edge of the field, staring at the walled pathway that was supposed to lead to a forest he wasn't even sure he could get into. He felt himself hesitate, wondering if the time spent walking across the entire field would be worth it or a waste of his precious time. He let out a slow, careful breath, and stepped forward.

"You would have been here sooner had you not stopped yesterday." Naveeta's voice chimed roughly.

"I...I had to bathe! I was filthy." Link said, a flush growing on his cheeks. He had spent nearly a week traversing Death Mountain and there was no water there. His leg was almost completely healed, thanks to the help from the Great Fairy. The walking stick his friend had made him rest at his hip, right beside the Megaton Hammer. He walked forward, hesitating at the edge of what looked like a giant tree trunk, dark and impossible to see but a foot ahead of it.

"This is it." Naveeta rang in his head. She sounded a tiny bit nervous as well.

Link swallowed hard, holding his breath as he continued to step forward. He walked bravely into zzzzthe darkness. His muscles tensed, expecting to be thrown back by an invisible force any second now. Any second...he waited, continuing to walk forward. How long as he walked? Surprised to find that he at one point had closed his eyes, he opened them, and was shocked to see that he was standing on a wooden planked and roped bridge.

"You made it in!" Naveeta cried. "But...how?"

Link frowned. Could it have something to do with the dead stone in his pocket? Deciding to think about it as he walked, he continued to move forward. He passed through another odd passageway, and strolled into a village of chopped trees turned into houses. It was beautiful, Link decided. The scenery below the bridge was more than enough to get his hopes up, but this...he spotted two small children walking down a pathway, talking. They seemed to be twins.

He almost ran to them, but then remembered that the outside world was unihabitable, and his presence might scare them off. But he couldn't exactly go sneaking around being suspicious either... He decided to calmly approach them. Walking casually, he stepped down the pathway, waiting for them to notice him.

And notice him they did. The twin on the right pulled a slingshot, aiming at Link forehead. The other twin had a wooden shield on her back, and she whipped it around faster than he could see. She jumped in front of her sister, intending to guard both of them with the one shield. "MIDO!"

Link held his hands up nervously. "Hey, it's all right." He said with a smile. "I'm not here to hurt anything, I'm just looking for someone...HEY!" Link narrowly dodged a deku seed that was aimed at him. "Those things hurt, you know..." He said in dismay.

The girls stood their ground, looking like they would defend themselves to the death if they had to. Link shooed away the thought, the idea of these...children fighting much at all was a bit ridiculous to think about. "How did you get in the forest?" The one aiming the slingshot demanded.

Link blinked innocently, thinking hard. "I'm honestly not sure. I think I was let in."

"By who?" The one holding the shield retorted hotly.

Link paused a minute, then dug into his leather bag. He earned a sharp sting on his arm as the slingshot twin fired at him. "OW!" Link ripped his arm back, rubbing the sore spot. That was going to leave a hell of a mark. "I'm just going to show you something, no weapons." He reached back into his bag, the twins eyeing him warily, and he removed the carefully covered dead Spiritual Stone from it's wrappings. The girls froze, dropping their equipment and wandering over to him as if in a trance. "That's...that's impossible." One said. "Maybe not..." The other followed. She looked up at him, studying his features. "You...look like him." She continued. "He does. Should we still get Mido?"

"It would just make him mad..."

"Or sad."

"Saria should know."

"Yes! Come with us!" The twin that was talking grabbed his hand and started to drag him along. "Quickly! We don't want Mido to see."

"Speaking of...quick, hide him!" Link followed dumbly as he was pushed into one of the tiny houses, and listened to the girls talk to another child outside.

"What's wrong? Did you call for me?" A boys voice said. He sounded urgent.

"Sorry, sorry. False alarm." A twin responded.

"My sister is such a scaredy-cat!" The other twin giggled.

The boy sounded frustrated. "This is not the time for false alarms. Now keep a good eye out!"

"Yes Mido!" They both said in unison. A moment later, Link found himself being dragged around, jumping behind houses and columns to stay out of sight from the Mido person. Finally, he was shoved into another house, one twin whispering harshly to him, "Talk to Saria! She'll know what to do!" Confused, Link looked around. The house was simple, but he wondered why all the houses were so...small. Did the children of the forest never grow up?

"Oh..." A soft gasp pulled him from his thoughts and he saw a green haired girl looking up at him, her bright blue eyes shimmering. She dropped the pottery she was holding, letting it crash to the ground. Link felt his throat go dry, and swallowed. The girl approached him slowly, drinking in his features. She was close now. She reached up to touch his cheek...

And instantly pulled it away. "Sorry. You look...so much like an old friend of mine...so long ago. How do I even remember?" She sighed, exasperated, and sat down on a piece of furniture, clasping her palm to her forehead. "You...I suppose you're hear to see the Deku Tree?"

Link fidgeted a little, something was telling him he had severely dissapointed this girl, and that odd sense of familiarity attempted to overwhelm him. "I uh...if he's available." That sounded dumb.

It made the girl giggle though. "What's your name, stranger?" She asked, a tiny, sad smile present on her face.

"Link." He said flatly.

The girl stared at him for another wistful moment, and then sighed. "Ah...yes. Link. Well, follow me. The Deku Tree will want to know how you got here at least."

"I think this let me in." He responded, presenting the cracked and dead-looking emerald.

Saria stared in horror at the object. Link frowned as he was reminded of his Goron friends reaction. Hers was a similar, though being a human-Kokiri-the shock and hurt was more evident in her features than in the stone-skinned Gorons. "By Goddess. What on earth happened?"

"I'm not sure. I was hoping to restore it."

"Of course you would. You have to!" Her tone became desperate, and she shoved his hand holding the stone back up into his face. Link took a step backed, surprise. "Oh." She stopped, a little surprised herself. "Sorry, not sure what came over me...ehm. Come with me please, we really should hurry then..." She exited the tiny house, running along the path the opposite side of town. Link followed, his long walking strides kept Saria jogging next to him. "Should I slow down?" He asked her. She shook her head. "Also, ignore the others."

Link frowned, noting the aggressive stares he was getting from the other Kokiri children. Saria sent them some kind of hand signal so they didn't pellet him with deku seeds, but they're innocent curiousity had gotten the better of them when it came to the staring. "Oh, watch out!" Saria shouted a little too late as a deku scrub popped out from its flower just outside the path they were about to enter and shot a shell at Link. It hit him square in the side, knocking him back and making him hiss in pain at the fresh injury. "That's gonna sting tomorrow..." He muttered quietly.

Saria shot at the monster with a slingshot and seeds, a couple other children joining in to take down the annoying monster. Link sighed, pulled Saria away from the vicious flower and grabbed the shovel off of his back. The scrub hid in it's flower, feeling safe. The other children watched in bewilderment as Link shoved the shovel head into the dirt, pressed his foot down on it once, then flung the poor scrub out of it's hiding place permanently. With the scrub still in attacking range, he drew his sword and lept towards the creature, cutting it down with ease.

Saria ran over to him. "I'm sorry! I should've told you about the monsters! I didn't realize-"

"It's all right, nothing that won't heal quickly. You should've seen me a few days ago." He laughed at himself, but Saria only gave him a very worried look.

"R-really?" She asked.

Link suddenly felt terrible for making her look like that. "H-hey. I'm fine. Promise. Let's go see the Deku Tree." He flashed her a smile, which made her smile back. They continued down the path, slicing down some of the most vicious flowers Link had ever seen. Finally, they came to an extremely large tree in the middle of a circular meadow. "What...the..." Link stared at the tree, which seemed to hold distinctive facial features.

"Oh! Saria!" The tree called. Naveeta had mentioned the forest, the Kokiri, and the Deku Tree...but seeing all of this was completely different. Link could only stare for awhile as Saria took a couple more steps forward, talking to the tree. "Deku Tree! I think I've brought someone who can help!" She gestured for Link to come forward.

Link, still somewhat stunned, walked forward dumbly, his eyes affixated on the talking tree in front of him. Not only could he talk, but he was massive, towering taller than any tree he had ever even dreamed to imagine.

"Link!" The tree called his name. This surprised the blonde teen only a little bit. "Deku...Tree?" Link replied, completely unsure of what to say.

"Ah, yes! I'm so glad you're here! I am having an awful time keeping the forest concealed for as long as I have...what has it been...500? 800 years? Anyway, I've been waiting for you!"

"Me?" Link pointed to himself. "Yes, you. I've been having premonitions of a revived Hyrule. I knew you would have something to do with it. You always do."

"Not me specifically." Link corrected.

The deku's face fell. "Oh...of course." He sounded a little dejected. "I apologize, I think I got a bit excited in all of this..." His attitude seemed to change dramatically and suddenly.

"It's fine. I'm eager to get moving, actually..." Link reached in his bag to grab the Emerald.

The Deku Tree didn't say anything for a bit. "The power has been lost to it..."

"Can you restore it?" Link asked quickly.

"Not as I am now. I've have spent far too many years keeping this barrier up...I need the evil rooted in this forest rid of."

"Wait...IN the forest?" Link blinked, bewildered.

"Yes, IN the forest. I tried to keep it contained, I can protect a few Kokiri but an entire country? That is a bit more difficult. No, a major root of the evil that has taken hold of this land is in the Lost Woods, even though..."

"Have you seen Hyrule? Why didn't you..." Link paused.

"I have not let it roam free. This thing...it is greedy. It would not stop at just Hyrule...getting rid of it would help restore my power."

Link breathed deeply. "Where is it? I'm going after it...now." For some reason, hearing that a dark creature draining the strength out of this tree made him very angry.

"Saria...please guide Link through the Lost Woods, to the place where the dark creature is."

Saria nodded politely. "Of course. Come, Link."

"Wait. What IS it?" Link asked the tree directly.

"I'm not even sure." Deku Tree replied.

Link frowned, and followed the green haired girl through the pathways.

Upon re-entering the Kokiri village, they were nearly ran over by a boy whose voice Link recognized. "Saria! Get the heck away from that stranger!"

Saria's face screwed up in anger. "Shut it, Mido! Anyone here could tell that he's the one Deku Tree has been waiting for. I'm taking him to the lost woods."

Mido glanced at Link, pondering his options. Then he stared back at Saria, at her features, and was almost alarmed. "All right fine, he's Mr. Hero. Still, let someone ELSE take him to the Lost Woods..."

"NO!" She yelled sharply, and stomped forward.

Mido didn't give up, he jogged next to her, grabbing her wrist. "Saria, come on, this isn't the time for this."

"Leave me alone."

"Saria-"

"I said leave me ALONE!"

She stood firm, her hands shaking and her lips quivering. Mido sighed, seriously annoyed. "Look, Saria, I can't let you do this again, all right? You are going. To get yourself. Killed. Now I am going to go with you, all right?"

The girl didn't say anything back, but pushed foward.

Link stared at the scene, bewildered. Mido hopped back to stand next to Link, who looked down at him. "Mind telling me what's wrong?" He ventured. He already had an unexplainable soft spot for the odd green-haired girl.

"You look alot like our Link, Mr. Hero." Mido said, sighing and crossing his arms. "Saria and he were closer than close on some things. They were involved in this big save the world adventure together...even though he had to leave. She never understood it. Something about how he 'grew up' before and THAT was okay...but to be 'sent back and still leave' didn't make sense to her much. I still don't get it. He wasn't even Kokiri to begin with, so none of it made any sense. She tries to play hero herself now, jumping into danger, exploring the Lost Woods even as dangerous as it is now...she's just grew even more kooky after he sage power were ripped from her."

"A Sage?" Link blinked, unbelieving. "SHE was a Sage?"

"Yeah, the Sage of the Forest. But when the current generation of sages died...ah, well, her powers were ripped from her. And I mean literally...ah, we're going up."

Link paused. They had walked nearly all the way across the village by now, and Mido began to climb a wall of vines. Link followed.

Mido continued his story. "The Temple of Time had to do something...perserve itself somehow. And the only way it could do that was with the power of a fully realized Sage. Well, being a Kokiri and likely to live for, well, a really really long time, something in the temple took her power from her to perserve itself. Or someone did it to the temple...you know what, I don't know. I do know that it's Saria's Sage powers that are keeping that temple intact for all the years it shoulda

crumbled. Anyway..."

Mido looked at Saria, who was waiting at the entrance of the Lost Woods, looking rather solemn. "Ok, lets go." Mido turned to Link.

Link began to follow the two, making sure to watch where they turned but hanging but just enough to have a conversation with Naveeta.

"Well the forest has...changed." She had spoken first.

"The Deku Tree didn't seem to be the old wizened being I was looking for..." Link commented, not meaning to be disrespectful.

"He is still a teenager. The first Great Deku Tree died many years before the catastrophe started, and was put on the earth by the Goddesses themselves."

"Wow. That's really old..."

"Yes, he was. Ganandorf's power eventually killed him."

"That's terrible." Link said sympathetically.

"It was." Naveeta quieted.

"So...Link and Saria, huh?" Link piped, changing the subject.

"Yes?" The green haired girl stopped and turned to face him at the mention of her name.

"Oh, sorry. Muttering to myself." Link defended. She gave him and odd glance before ducking into the next passageway. Link jogged to catch up a bit.

"Yes, her sagely powers were taken from her...and it seems that it has had a mental effect on her. Maybe seeing you is acting as a trigger for her...instabilities."

Link grimaced. "That...I don't know how to feel about this Naveeta."

"It's all right. Mido seems to be able to calm her down."

"I'm a little surprised though...I thought they would act a bit...wiser."

"Kokiri do not age, and most retain their childish demeanor throughout their entire lives. In otherwords, they may become more knowledgeable throughout the years, but they will never be 'wise'. Saria was different. She was wise and smart, and welcomed into becoming a sage. But now she seems...a bit more childish then I last knew her."

Link sighed warily, and checked his surroundings. How the children knew to navigate these was still pretty amazing, every small meadow looked the same to him. Now they stood in a large entryway, an ornate gate in front of them, and behind that a vast meadow with crumbling walls scattered about.

Saria pointed past the gate. "Over there...it's overrun by all kinds or dark creatures. This place used to be the Sacred Forest Meadow...but now we call it the Cursed Lands."


	9. 9: Deadly Dungeon

_**I do not own Legend of Zelda or any of their characters.**_

Chapter 9

Link felt himself shake in his boots as he looked around the ruins. Mido and Saria returned safely to the Kokiri village, only after his insistence. The crumbling walls of the once-beautiful meadow were overgrown with vicious weeds and violent plants. He kept his shield up, learning quickly to expect being knocked back by large deku babas and pelted with deku nuts by sad little scrubs.

Something here was bugging him...he looked around, taking deep, steady breaths, concentrating on the ground below him, when the grass sank deep beneath the sole of his boots. He stared across the meadow to a set of stairs, where a little ways from the top a very old forest temple stood. Link slashed at another attacking flower, cutting it down with a harsh squeak. This place had him on his toes, that was much was sure. At the same time, he was happy to be around plants and living things again. Relaxing visibly as he saw few monstrous threats left, but keeping his sword and shield ready for a moments notice change, he trudged forward.

The toe of his boot hitched on an old root protuding from the ground, making him fly forward, face-first. Link braced himself for impact with the ground, pushing his arms out in front of him. He grunted at the impact, and attempted to pull himself to his knees when he heard a sickening cracking noise. Frozen, he looked at the ground and watched as the dirt seemed to sink into itself.

"Uh-oh." He managed before the ground under him fell through completely. In a panic, he flailed to grab the edge of something, anything, but quickly found himself free-falling into what looked like a deep, dark pit. His scream turned silent in the rush of the wind against his face, and he shut his eyes tightly, awaiting the impact that would surely leave him as a battered body on whatever type of ground lay below.

.He felt himself slam into something, thought it wasn't hard like he imagined. A soft fluffliness eneveloped him, causing him to bounce upwards a bit with the squishiness of the material under him. Surprised and thoroughly relieved, Link slowly opened his eyes to take in his surroundings.

He gasped in awe. Enormous glowing flowers decorated the stony environment, lighting up what would otherwise be a dark cavern. All kinds of odd mushrooms and foliage surrounded him. He carefully steadied himself on the pillow that he sat on, a disturbingly large mushroom that was as soft as a pile of feathers. Carefully, he scooted towards the downward slope of the mushroom top, but slid halfway. He gave out a yelp of surprise, and his eyes widened as he fell off the top of the plant and into the slide-shaped leaf of a giant flower, landing safely, it not a bit shakily, on the solid ground of the cavern.

"Are you all right?" Naveeta chimed in his head. Her concern seemed mild.

"A little shaken, but fine...you were oddly quiet during my fall."

"There is...little I could do, if something like that were to happen." She replied, sounding rather sad.

Link frowned at himself. "I...see." Both voices remained silent.

The blond boy looked around the cavern, seeing only a single path in the cave, leading forward. "Nowhere else to go..." He muttered to himself, checking to make sure all of his equipment remained on his person. He took a deep, steady breath, and moved forward down the tunnel.

Enormous spiders and they're large, intricate nests. Hordes of scrubs shooting stinging nuts at him. Huge Deku Babas snapping hungrily at his limbs and face, pushing him backward and pulling him into their reach with their snake-like vines that move at their will. Link furiously swiped at yet another vine that clasped itself around his ankle tightly, threating to pull his foot from his leg if it so wished. He finally felt the relief of tugging at the limb when the steel sword connected with the thick vine, and a second swing severed the creatures dangerous appendage from him. The Baba squeeled a short, high-pitched sound before rearing it's large purple head and lunging at him. He wisely jumped back, remaining on his toes to perform a jump attack, stabbing his sword downward and thrusting it through the head of the vicious flower, pinning it to the ground momentarily and letting it die.

Link stumbled back when the creature dissapeared in a puff of dark smoke, panting. He wiped the sweat and blood from his face, dismayed at the toll this undergound tunnel was taking on him. Cuts riddled his body, and the constant battle was wearing his body thin.

"I'm not sure…how much more I can take…" he panted. His muscles burned and weariness began to see throughout his body.

"You must continue." Naveeta urged. "This place…no area is safe!"

"I've noticed." Link breathed. The very grass felt dangerous here. Everytime he had to backtrack through an old room, enemies re-grew themselves. Something was fueling the dark energies in this place. And it scared him to think what wait at the end of this tunnel. He reminded himself of the dead Kokiri Emerald that lay safely wrapped in his pack around his waist. He urged his feet forward, angrily swiping at large and small spiders that attacked him in droves, dodging snapping deku babas and picking himself up off the floor after being tripped countless times by creeping vines.

Time seemed to drag on forever. The enemies seemed endless. Half a day of constant fighting and walking, and Link finally collapsed to the floor, his breath heavy.

"Is this…your limit?" Naveeta asked him.

Link took his sword, stabbing it into the ground and using it as leverage to sit himself up. "Not yet…" He panted. He could feel the sorrow from Naveeta. Link grimaced. He wouldn't last much longer at this rate. His clothes were covered in blood from all kinds of scrapes, cuts, and bites. He stood up, and took a step forward. His feet felt like lead, heavy and awkward. He trudged forward forcibly. Another swarm of spiders approached him. Too many to fight off in his weary state.

He swung anyway, knocking back a few of the dark creatures, but then were only hit so hard as to be injured and flipped themselves back up to advance on the weary hero.

Link felt himself being overwhelmed. He found that he couldn't keep up with the advancing army of dark spider creatures. They bit him, sending a poison coursing through his veins. It paralyzed him.

"Sing for me, Link." Naveeta's voice rang in his head.

_Now?_ He thought. He felt life draining from his body. He felt his breath shallow and his heartbeat slow. The pain that his body was trying to register didn't even matter anymore, and he easily ignored it as he focused on his last breaths.

Trees of Great, Plants a-many,

Roots take hold, of my words.

O guardian forest hold might-y throughout…all time…

Feeling. A tingling sensation that started in the tips of his fingers.

Breathe. Oxygen filled his lungs awkwardly, as if they hadn't been working moments before.

A heartbeat. A slow, rhythmic sound that signifies life.

Link blinked his dry eyes several times, a raspy cough taking over his throat and making his body shake. His chest burned with the fresh oxygen that was forcing the dust out of his lungs.

He flexed his hands warily, and confusion clouded his thoughts. "What-?"

"Awake? Good." A voice soothed.

Link blinked again, looking upward. His eyesight was blurry yet, but he could make out the fuzzy form of a floating person.

"I am a Great Fairy. I heard you were in trouble."

Link attempted to stand up, but he found his legs more than a little shaky.

"I'd wait a few minutes if I were you. Being revived can be a bit of a shock."

Link drank in the words carefully. That means…he had died. Oh Goddess! The sudden realization made his mind scream. It was a horrible feeling, having the life drain from you slowly. He shivered involuntarily. "That…"

"Ah-ah-ah. Take it easy and just sit there quietly for a moment. One of my darling little helpers is going to help restore you a bit more."

Link was vaguely aware of the pink ball of light that encircled him and dusted him with powerful revival and healing magics. After a few more moments, Link felt invigorated, warmth returning to his hands and the fuzziness in his head lifting.

"I bet that's better." The Great Fairy chimed.

"Ah…thank you."

"It was nothing. Just promise me that you will sing for me again?"

Link gave a weak smile. "Any time. Thank you, truly." He bowed his head in respect, and the fairy disappeared with a high pitched screech and a splash into the water.

"I see you are back on your feet." Naveeta's voice chimed in his head.

"Yes…thank you. I'm sorry if I failed you."

"You can' fail me, Link. Only this place, and yourself."

Link frowned. Naveeta was being unusually sharp. Then again, he reminded himself, he did just DIE. He shuddered, and a pink fairy flew up to him.

"Sir, I'd be happy to aid you, if you have a bottle for me to stay in."

Link looked at the pink fairy, then removed one of the bottles from his leather pouch. He had drained both of the red potions earlier in the overgrown tunnel, and popped the cork. The little pink fairy happily flew into the bottle and settled on the circular glass bottom, napping.

Link smiled at it, and walked towards the exit of the fairy's fountain, being lifted into the sky and appearing in the dead center of the spider attack he had died in.

Link wasted no time. He charged his sword with magic, feeling it entangle with the blade for a deadly combination. The spin attack worked wonderfully, many of the creatures were thrown about, curling into themselves and dying as little black shriveled balls. Link advanced through the tunnels, his determination fresh.

He stopped when he ran into a large, circular room. Around the walls was a deep, thin crevice. He peered over the edge of land to look down, and it seemed to have no end. He looked around cautiously. Nothing but a huge rock in the middle of the room. He ran to the door at the other side of the room.

He was about to open the door when, to his surprise, he found it locked tight. Then, from behind him, was a loud, vicious roar. Link spun to stare at the rock, which had stood up. At that moment he noticed a large ugly face, and a massive club wielded in the creatures hand.

"Oh…my." Link breathed just before the creature slammed its club down right next to him and roared threateningly. Link ran. He quickly learned that he was outmuscled, but the large humanoid was not very bright. He dodged fairly easily, swiping at the creatures ankles whenever he was in range. It didn't seem to be very effective, so Link switched to the incredibly heavy megaton hammer.

The hammer's weight felt good in his gloved palms, and he rushed to stand next to the dumb giants foot. Throwing in all of his might, Link swung the hammer downwards, causing the ground to shake. The giant was losing it's balance, and Link had to roll to not get crushed. The creature sat on it's behind, and Link ran to it's back, holding the hammer like a baseball bat and swinging it directly into the giants back. The giant yowled in pain, being knocked towards the endless pit at the edge of the room. Using the hammer and a series of well-placed hits, Link managed to make the giant fall into a crevice. With a final strike, he slammed the hammer down on the giants gripping hands that had caught the edge of the earth, and sent the vicious beast plummeting through the seemingly endless crevice.

Link laid back, breathing hard. He wasn't as tired out as he could be, however. And he took that as a good sign. Naveeta didn't seem to be talking to him, though, and that worried him slightly. With the dark being gone, he heard a click, signaling the doors had become unlocked. He watched as a strange glowing light made a wooden chest appear, a rather large one. Excitedly, Link ran to the center of the room and opened the chest to reveal a rather odd wooden box. Inside was an adult-sized slingshot and several separated squares with different kinds of seeds. Some were deku seeds, but others were plant seeds that he did not recognize. He stashed the weapon in his belt and stored the box of ammunition in a satchel. He was about to pull away when he noticed a second item in the chest, much to his surprise. He reached in and pulled out what looked like a beautifully made poncho. It was almost golden in color, wonderfully stitched. Surprised, and a little more than curious, he threw it over his head and waited.

Nothing really seemed to happen at first, but then he seemed to notice that the poncho-cape thing seemed to draw on his magical power. Surprised, Link checked himself for any magical effects. He was stunned to recognize an invisibility enchantment. Well, this was certainly interesting. Link stared at the door ahead of him. These items were going to help him finish this somehow…and he was more than determined to figure it out.


End file.
